Welcome to Paradise
by Skurg
Summary: Sequel to Those Crazy Kids From Vault 101. The war between the Enclave and the Brotherhood of Steel has officially kicked off in the Summer of 2279. With Amata safe, Winter is still trapped in a hostile deathtrap with no way out. She fights an enemy she knows almost nothing about and has to juggle dealing with the Enclave as well as a public in fear and chaos. Rated MA
1. Chapter 1

_4__th__ of June, 2279_

"Uh… Unit 10 what's your situation?"  
I groggily open my eyes and roll over onto my side. My face rubs against the dirt and I shoot my head up to sneeze.  
"Unit 10?" my radio crackles.  
I reach over and hit the receiver, "Yeah we're fine, home base."  
"Heads up, enemy spotted in Sector 4 approximately half a click from your position."  
"Shit…" Nichols sighs and sits up beside me and pulls on a jacket.  
"Copy that," I sigh and toss my radio onto my bag. Alice Nichols… my trusty partner in crime (her words, not mine), had fallen asleep beside me while we were supposed to be scouting an empty stretch of land. I sit up properly and strap on my fake right leg. It's easy because I'm only wearing shorts and I can easily loop the belts around my waist to support myself.

"Where are you going?" I frown at Nichols as she starts to grab her stuff.  
"I'm leaving," she laughs, "What are you doing?"  
"Nuh uh," I shake my head, "You're staying right here."  
"Daniels!" she gasps when I take her bag off of her. Nichols just barely turned 28 a few days ago, but she looks and acts far younger.  
"Come on," I groan, "We're fine, no one can see us and if they do I'll take care of it, alright?"  
"OK…" she sighs and sits back down. Killing always makes Nichols nervous, and the only time she's ever really killed someone was when I had to practically force her to. I feel increasingly bad about it whenever she brings it up, but she's in the military, she needs to be able to protect herself, especially with this bullshit war.

I lie down on my stomach and take out my sniper rifle that Nichols had given me. I look down at the scope and sense Nichols lying down beside me with a pair of binoculars. The late afternoon sun still beats down on top of us, and I'm cooking over the hot dirt. It'll start to get cold in a few hours, but you couldn't tell. I grab a clean rag and open my canteen and pour some water onto it and wrap the rag around my neck to help with the heat. Nichols fidgets and wipes sweat from her forehead as she fidgets.  
"Come on Nichols…" I murmur, "We'll be fine."  
"Enemy moving in from the north," my radio crackles beside me and makes Nichols jolt beside me.  
"Which way are we facing?"  
"Northeast," I don't keep my eyes off the scope, "We'll be fine, Nichols, don't worry."  
"Don't call me Nichols anymore."  
"What?"  
"Just call me Ali, dipshit." She sighs, "Just call me Ali."  
"Oh come on…" I grin and look over at her, "Don't be like that."  
"You say Nichols in a weird way, just call me Ali," she sighs, "I think I can make them out. My two o'clock."

I turn myself around and look down, "I see them."

The Enclave has been sprouting out of nowhere. Their eyebots have been coming out in full force, spewing pro-organized government propaganda and how to act like an asshole. Nothing beats walking up to a starving homeless child and saying "Don't worry, the Enclave will save us. No, I won't give you food you peasant, fuck off." And acting surprised when someone clocks you over the face for acting like a dip stick. These eyebots actually are good for batting practise though, so that's a plus. Since I had to leave Amata in her Vault, shit here hasn't gotten much better.

The BoS and the Enclave have been at each other's throats, even though both top dogs have yet to meet. That's right; the big bad all-American patriot John Henry Eden hasn't shown his face, at all, since this war has broken out. We have some idea of where we're going with this, and that's a shit load of death; more than usual. The BoS has controlled states around what's left of America, and we've been in contact with them, but we don't know how long it will take for them to get troops here, or when they think the situation will be dire enough. Until then, the Enclave has officially dug in deep, and it's feeding off of the desperate.

They promise food and shelter, and money, to people who will join their ranks. While the BoS proudly promises their soldiers honour and valour, the Enclave promises them survival. Granted, our influence is still strong, even stronger considering that the Enclave shot at _us _first, but the Enclave released a radio broadcast spinning out bullshit about how they had tried to help the BoS with Project Purity, but we declined. Worried that the project would take too long and more lives would be lost in the process, they decided to act and take the project from our… "inexperienced" hands. I swear to god I almost smashed my Pip-boy against the wall when I listened to that garbage the first time.

Official hostilities began when a group of BoS charged for Project Purity after some false intel was given about the numbers. Both sides lost souls and, of course, the BoS was sent into a full retreat. They have the Project on a tight lockdown, and we can't get anything on these slippery bastards. We have a vague idea of where their base is, somewhere to the north. The only thing I know is up north is a slaver camp and some dimwit and his family establishing a small town to the North West; the Democracy of Dale of something stupid like that. It won't take us long to find it, but if the Enclave can tell us anything, it's they they're equipped to defend themselves.

I'm pretty much fucked. I wear a grey and blue jacket with the BoS logo on the left breast, a dark grey cotton shirt, and bluish grey cargo pants with black converse shoes with holes in them with a blue baseball cap and occasionally a red bandana to have over my mouth and nose (when dust is swirling around everywhere), whenever I'm on the field. Your standard Enclave grunt is decked out in full body steel armour, a helmet and combat boots. It takes a good five bullets to get through their armour if you shoot at the same place to get a kill. It only takes one if you're fortunate enough that Mr Patriot forgot to put on his helmet that morning and you're a good shot.

I see three of them, two officers dressed in a cloth cap and dress uniform, and one soldier decked out in standard military uniform close to 150 metres from us. We're lying above them on a small cliff and would be hard to spot. I'm only dressed in shorts and a shirt; he's dressed in steel armour that has some weird electronic shit coming off of it. I know it's a he, because the Enclave doesn't allow women in their military, unless they're nurses of course. Because why waste valuable uterus? Fuck's sake…

"You know what to do," I turn to… ugh… "Ali", who's holding her own rifle, "Aim for the officers, I'll aim for the big guy. OK? Just take your time, and don't worry if you miss, there's no pressure."  
"OK."  
I grab my radio, "Home base, unit 10, group of hostiles spotted in sector 2. Permission to engage?"  
"Permission granted, unit 10, give them hell."  
I pull on a dirt coloured hat to help camouflage myself and move in to take the shot.

My bullet rips through the air and the kick blasts into my shoulder and the force makes dirt fly up into the air. I hit him square in the face, but it's covered by his helmet. His steel helmet crunches around his face, but the bullet doesn't pass through to kill him. The force of the shot sends him flying backward as the other two officers grab their pistols and look around for us. Ali shoots and nails one officer in the shoulder.  
"Shit…" she sighs and lines up another shot. I wait for my target to get back up so I can have an easier shot. I don't care how good you are with a gun, if you have a pistol it's hard to hit a target 150 metres from you that's the size of a 21 year old's head.  
"Goodnight," I grunt and squeeze the trigger. The already damaged helmet shatters pieces off of it as my second bullet pounds into the centre. I watch as his hands frantically slap at his helmet in a horrible looking attempt to rip it off as he dances about in the dirt. His officers ignore him and scan the area looking for us, but Ali fires a perfect shot, straight into the chest and most likely puncturing a lung.

As he collapses onto the ground, the remaining officer looks around for a moment, completely clueless to our position, and drops his gun.  
"Don't fire," I mumble to Ali, "keep your sights on him, if he sees you and picks up his pistol, I want you to kill him."  
Ali looks like a mess. Her hands are shaking, her breath is quick and laboured and her bronze skin has turned an unhealthy shade of green.  
"Easy…" I grasp her shoulder, "You can do this, OK? I'm right beside you."

"Home base we've got a situation," I stand up and pace around our miniature little camp.  
"What's your sit rep unit 10?"  
"We've eliminated two threats from the area but there's one officer who's willing to surrender? Your orders?"  
There's a small silence from the radio, probably some of the com staff discussing protocol for this sort of thing. The prison at Springvale is packed with prisoners of war, almost all of whom are officers.  
"Up to you, corporal" a voice eventually determines with a cool, calm voice, like I asked him if I could kill a radroach that crawled into his living room.  
"Copy that home base," I turn off the radio and look at Ali, "cut him loose. They'll know not to wander around here anymore. This is BoS territory. I'm going to go make sure that he doesn't have anything hiding on him."

"Do you miss her?" Ali asks suddenly.  
"Hmm?" I frown as I rummage through one of my bags to find some spare ammo.  
"Amata; do you miss her?"  
"That's a stupid fucking question, Ali." I look over my shoulder and shake my head.  
"It's only two more months." she smiles.  
"Until I can see her, yes," I nod, "but this cluster fuck won't wrap up in just two months."  
"Do you think you'll be able to stay?"  
"I honestly doubt it," I say it with a tone of voice that suggests that she shuts up.

"You," I growl, "Give me your gun."  
The officer slowly bends down to pick up his gun that looms around his feet, with his right hand still high in the air. His fingers wrap around the pristine weapon and he begins to raise it.  
"Handle first!" I snap.  
He slowly turns his pistol in his hands and hands it to me, before I toss it to Ali. She catches it and stuffs it into her bag.  
"Give me all of your stuff," I flick my revolver at the direction of the bag that he's carrying.

Ah, I love my revolver, a Smith and Wesson Model 29 with a eight and a half inch barrel. Only reason I know that is because Smith and Weston is still _barely _engraved on the bastard, and I managed to link it to a picture in one of Lucas' old weapon books at his house once. The baby's never failed me, and I can't imagine moving around here without it moving snugly against my left hip with me.  
"Savages…" he grunts and throws it at me.  
"That's not a nice way to talk to someone who could have killed you," I laugh and open the bag. Inside is what you'd expect an officer of an organized military organization to be carrying; food, water, documents and even some family photos.

He has a son, daughter and a wife; all of them are pudgy and spoiled by the luxury that the Enclave gives to its members. The son, not much older than 10, wears a clean pressed suit for the photo and has perfectly straight teeth. My teeth are OK, before I left the Vault I managed to swipe a few boxes of toothpaste to help repair the almost catastrophic damage that had mounted over the last few years, but damn, these kids look like they were raised in a Vault or somewhere with a decent dentist. Compared to Ali's crooked train wreck in her mouth, the kid's clearly been spoiled with a life of having everything handed to him.

"Here," I toss him back his water and the photos of his family, "I don't need these."  
"I honestly hope that you don't," he mutters and I raise my eyebrows at him.  
"Get the fuck out of here," I grunt, "and get your kids on a goddamn diet."  
He turns and stumbles over the still living soldier that I shot, though his movements are almost tiny little twitches by now as they still fumble to remove the mask. I don't think you could actually remove the helmet without some kind of saw being involved. Ali watches the officer leave, gun still firmly pointed at him, as I walk over to the wounded soldier lying on the ground.  
"I'm sorry," I sigh, before emptying five bullets into the helmet. I reach down and rip off one of his hard leather gloves and feel for his pulse and find nothing. If he isn't dead now he will be soon. I look down at the wedding ring on the soldier's finger and freeze for a little while, before looking at my own.

"Ah… Christ…" I mutter and shake my head, "we should go back to camp…"  
"Yep…" she nods and turns around to walk away, but I stay behind.  
"Oh Jesus Christ, Daniels!" she groans in frustration as I bend over and grab the dead soldier's satchel, "Didn't your father ever tell you not to poke around a dead man's crap?"  
"Shut the fuck up, Nichols," I sigh and open the lid. Same fucking thing, photos of family that loved him. Wife and only one kid this time, though his daughter is only around three and looks thin for her age; had a pretty wife too.  
"Help me," I look over my shoulder and grab his legs.  
"What the fuck are you doing now?" she sighs, "We need to go back to our camp and wait for orders."  
"This'll only take a second," I snap.

Ali rolls her eyes and grips underneath his arms.  
"Don't look down at his chest," I grunt as we lift him.  
"Why?" she frowns, before she sees the reason why. Five bullets to the face doesn't exactly mean much good to the victim when it comes to remaining facial structure. His head flops down, and all the blood and bits of brain come spilling out of the gap in the helmet and onto his chest.  
"I fucking hate you, Daniels," she gags and scrunches her eyes tight as she walks back while carrying him. I lean him against the wall to the cliff and put his hands together against his dog tags and do the same to the dead officer.  
"Let's go…" I sigh after Ali fixes the dead officer's cap.  
"Do you want to say a prayer?" she turns to me.  
"Smartass." I sigh.

We abandon the dead bodies and return to our small camp where the all of our stuff is. I sit down beside my rifle and Ali sits down to grab her binoculars, but instead, her body dry heaves. She slams her body onto all fours and vomits over the edge of the small cliff.  
"Whoa!" I gasp and dart away in surprise.  
She stops after a few seconds, and wipes her mouth, "S…sorry," she coughs, "Just the surprise of everything…"  
"No… no it's fine," I fake a smile and nudge her shoulder with my left foot, "you gonna be OK?"  
"I'll be fine," she crawls away from the cliff and collapses beside me and curls herself into a ball. I look down at her and shake my head. Nichols isn't ready for this world, no one really is. She's been tossed into this war and if I don't do anything she's going to get chewed up and spat out.  
"You really don't like to shoot guns do you?" I sigh and look down at her.  
She shakes her head and I grip her shoulder, "You want something to drink?"  
"Don't make me shoot a gun again," she says quickly and looks over at me from the corner of her eye.  
"I'm sorry I did," I sigh, "I'll talk to Washington and get you back to stable duty."  
"Are you mad at me?"  
"No!" I shake my head, "I don't expect everyone to be able to kill somebody. It just means you want to hold onto your humanity; and I respect you for that."  
"Washington will think I'm a coward," she sighs and shakes her head.  
"Cowards are people who run away when they can help. You can still help with the horses; it's what you're best at."  
She smiles, "You'll be a good mom one day. Amata's lucky to have you. Really lucky."

…

Everything eventually drags to 10PM and we see the best or worst thing we've seen all day. A large vertibird flying in the distance. Ali is awake, but exhausted and almost covered by a blanket. She isn't used to staying awake for long patrols. Once she sees the bird, however, she jolts awake and grabs my binoculars, "What do you think?"  
"It's more than likely the BoS coming to pick us up," I frown and grab my rifle. Rather than run the risk of a couple of cannon fodder soldiers running around the Wasteland and murdering a wave of Enclave civilians in a drunken rage, the BoS sends birds to pick up units and bring them to their specific bases. However, it could also be an Enclave bird trying to find lost personnel.  
I look down my scope and scrunch my eye tight to help see.  
"I… think that it's one of ours…" I grunt, "stay sharp, just in case."  
Suddenly, the light on the bird flashes and instantly points at us.  
"Shit!" Ali gasps and dives out of the path of the searchlight.  
"Baseball…" my radio shouts.  
"What?" Ali yells above the noise.  
"Shh!" I shout at her and grip the radio, "Kansas."  
"We have you in our sights unit 10, standby for evac."  
"Get your shit together," I smirk at her as I stuff my blanket into my bag and toss it over my shoulder.

When the bird lands, two other BoS soldiers come jogging out with their bags and pass us completely.  
"Hello to you too," I mutter as I board the aircraft.  
"Oh shut up and let me sleep," Ali groans as she lies down onto a bench and pulls a blanket over her. I sit down beside her and flip through the radio stations on my Pip-Boy, no emergency broadcasts from Vault 101, thank god.

I look down and play with my wedding ring, twirling it around on my finger and smiling lightly as I think about the beautiful woman I have waiting for me in that Vault, tucked away in a safe blanket away from the growing storm around me. As I drift off to sleep, I manage to squeeze out one singular drop of true happiness and relief as I know that she is safe. I imagine her lying in bed right now, bored and worried about me, but safe and away from any dangers I'd rather die than have her and our child be subjected to. I can go to sleep at night knowing that she doesn't have to worry about an enemy soldier storming our house and dragging us somewhere unknown. She can go to sleep at night without having to keep one eye open. She can fall asleep and not feel _scared_. And, as that said sleep eventually drags me under into a bleak ocean of blackness and nothingness; that's all I can ever ask for.


	2. Chapter 2

"Thank you for flying Air BoS," a tired sounding pilot says sarcastically as the bird lands on the dirt with a sudden and violent thud. Ali jolts awake and sits bolt upright in surprise. Her hair is tussled and she quickly wipes the strand of spit running down her chin. I rub my eyes tiredly and look at my watch, it's almost midnight. My eyes are strained from hours of looking down a scope and binoculars coupled with going an easy 29 hours without sleep. As I go to stand up, my stomach still aches from the nice little bullet my Dad gave me. I hiss and grip my stomach, clenching my teeth as I walk off the bird and my shoes pad along the destroyed dirt road that is Springvale.

The place is buzzing with activity; it's an absolute madhouse. BoS soldiers are sitting around maps or intel being briefed by their supervising officer, all of them listening intently, a far cry from what we usually do, which is just walk up and shoot what we need to shoot. Search lights powered by generators sweep around the area to look for enemy targets and I see what all the commotion is about.

A group of roughly four Enclave soldiers are lying in a bloody heap on the ground, with a few medics picking at them like crows. It's funny, how clean the area around them is. All of the blood from the kill is still sloshing around in their suits, disturbed only if they move the bodies, like they have to eventually. Springvale is packed out with Enclave POWs, both valuable and your typical grunts are here. Most of them time we just strip them of everything when they surrender and send them marching like I did with that officer, but if we can get some use out of them we'll toss them into a cell. It's pretty obvious that a squad or two will charge the place to try and take it over, but it's hard to lead an assault on a building with defences so ridiculously air tight it would make Hitler's bunker blush. Nobody but me understands that joke… sometimes my education's a disadvantage when it comes to socialising.

"Hey! Daniels!" an ecstatic soldier grins and claps my shoulder, the force of the impact making my shoulder sag. "You missed the party!"  
Funny how earning a scrap of metal can gain you popularity within BoS ranks. Engrave words like valour onto something and have your name written on a board somewhere and people will be all over you like you're a goddamn hero. The only good thing to come from it is it finally covered up my mental breakdown and suicide attempt and put me in the BoS' good books.  
A few people shout something at me as I walk past the base and up into Megaton; my cosy little home that stinks of rusty metal and mud.

Ali limps out after me and rests her head against the wall to Amata and I's house as I fumble for my keys. I let Ali stay with me when we're based in Springvale because it's almost impossible to sleep in the actual base itself. People snore, shout, argue and clean their guns all around you, not to mention you can hear the POW's scream their lungs out because of their soggy bread. My house, always warm and quiet, with only one person living there at the moment, it's better than a base any day.  
"I think my ears are still ringing," she complains when I open the door and let her inside.  
I instantly hear a loud scuttling noise and loud barking.

"Dogmeat!" I grin as the dog pounces at me. I catch him and hug him as his body wriggles in excitement. I drop him and he gleefully runs circles around Ali and I as I try to walk into the kitchen. Ali collapses onto the sofa and pulls a blanket over her, before Dogmeat happily laps at her hand.  
"I don't want to play, Dogmeat," she sighs and lightly pushes him away. His tail wags, and the idiot's tongue sticks out as he turns to me.  
"Settle down boy," I laugh and sip at a beer. He grudgingly whimpers, his tongue goes back in his face, and he sits down on the sofa next to Ali as I go upstairs. I shut the door behind me to my room and sigh. I take off my uniform and crawl into bed. I sigh and roll onto my side and look at Amata's side of the bed. My fingers brush where her side used to lie, where I would hold her as we both slept.

…

"Daniels. Wake up."  
"Hmph?" I groan and groggily open my eyes. Ali is lightly tapping my face and I smack her hand away. "Piss off!"  
"It's two in the afternoon for fuck's sake," she laughs, "we have a war to fight!"  
"Nichols," I frown and close my eyes again, "please don't wake me up again."  
"Come on! I've been to Springvale this morning and people have assignments for us."  
"No…" I groan and roll onto my stomach, "go away."  
"Come on," she laughs and grips my wrist to drag me out of bed, "up we go."  
I roll out of bed and land on the wood floors.  
"Oh come on…" she sighs.  
"I have one fucking leg, Alice." I smile.  
"Really? I hadn't noticed. Come on, Amata may go gooey when you act all cute, but I have higher standards."  
I smirk up at her and shrug, "Since you asked so nicely…"

Ten minutes later I'm dressed and walking down the stairs.  
"Hey," I laugh and ruffle the fur on Dogmeat's head when he trots towards me. I slip my rifle over my shoulder and strap on my holster, "What are we going to do tonight Brain?"  
"What?" she frowns.  
"Nothing, nothing," I laugh.  
"Simple job; we're just carrying intel to the Citadel."  
"That's never ended badly for anybody, "I laugh.  
"Just shut up. Bring Dogmeat with you if you want."

…

I manage to drag myself out of the house and Dogmeat follows the both of us with a grin on his face. Even when we go to Springvale, grab our horses, and get the horses to a decent pace, he manages to easily keep up with us.  
"Where did you find this little shit?" Ali laughs as Dogmeat runs up a small hill and follows us from above.  
"At a scrapyard somewhere north of Megaton. He was Amata's Christmas present to me by letting me keep him." I smirk, "I'm going to see if he can match Kai's speed."

Kai and Dogmeat get along well, well meaning that they don't want to kill each other. They chase each other around a lot whenever Dogmeat wanders off into the paddocks and the dog is _barely _slower than the deadly quick horse. I set Kai into full speed and he grunts in approval, his legs pounding hard against the ground. Dogmeat chases after us, looking up at me and staying just behind Kai. I stop looking at my dog and focus on the horizon ahead. I grin, "Come on Kai, come on!"  
He grunts harder and keeps galloping, accepting the challenge I've set for him by going as fast as he possibly can. Dogmeat starts to linger behind, and I look back at him to see if he's okay, before I hear a loud shot.

"Shit!" I gasp. My arm suddenly explodes in pain and my other arm leaves Kai's bridle to grip the wound. I instantly lose my balance and fall off the horse and crash onto the ground.  
"Daniels!" Ali screams.  
Dogmeat barks at me and takes a bite against my collar.  
"I can't move my arm," I stutter at Ali. "I can't move my arm!"  
Dogmeat drags me behind a nearby rock and laps at my face in an attempt to calm me down.  
"I'm fine, boy," I whisper and pat him with an assuring smile, "just a little wound is all…"  
His grey ears stick back in an immediate alert state. He's such a good boy. He knows the situation, he has to look out for the bad people while I'm sick, and he'll attack them if they get near me. He stands protectively over me, with his tail sticking out straight and his teeth showing. Kai instantly runs away as he's been trained to. A horse is valuable, and there's no point in getting caught in the cross fire. I move my left arm and grab my revolver, the blood on my left hand smears against the metal of the gun and my finger slips, "God dammit!"

"Hey, you're going to be fine," Ali gasps as she slides onto the ground beside me.  
"Shut the fuck up and go into my backpack and grab my radio!" I hiss. I frantically slap my right arm to try and get some feeling back in it.  
"Stop it," she gasps and takes off her own bag. "Hold still."  
She grabs some tweezers and shoves it into my bicep without any warning. I scrunch my eyes tight and hold back a scream of agony as she moves around inside my arm.  
"No, Dogmeat!" I bark at him when he prepares to attack Ali.  
"I've almost got it," she frowns, "don't move."  
Dogmeat starts barking and I push her off of me, "Someone's coming."  
"Give me your gun," she says quickly.  
"Use your own," I grunt.  
"No, it's more powerful and you won't shoot well using your left hand. Give me your gun."  
I reluctantly give her the gun and hold my bleeding arm. The pain is strong now, my entire arm is pulsing and blood trickles down and forms patterns around my tanned skin.  
Ali stands up and fires a few rounds.  
"Mayday, Unit 10 requesting immediate assistance along route Delta as well as a medic, soldier down, I repeat, soldier down."  
I drop my radio and hiss in pain, "Christ…"

Ali drops my gun and it falls next to me.  
"Don't!" I gasp when she picks up the tweezers and rinsing them with water. "Don't touch it!"  
"Daniels, we have to get this out, it's almost out."  
"I'll bleed out before any help gets here. Just put on a tourniquet and- FUCK!"  
She plunges the tweezers in my arm again. She takes out the bullet and flicks it onto the dirt.  
"N… N…" I mutter as blood starts to gush out.  
"Shh, you'll be fine, Daniels," she whispers and ties a rope firmly around my bicep. The bleeding slows down and she wraps bandages around my arm so tightly it hurts.  
"You're going to be fine. Don't fall asleep," she smiles. "Do you want to keep the bullet?"  
I cough and shake my head, before I hear a few more shots fire off. I grab my gun and load it, before shoving Ali down onto the ground, rolling on top of her to shield her, sticking my head out of cover, gripping my right arm with my left, aiming, and squeezing the trigger with my left index finger.

Three Enclave soldiers dressed in uniform slowly move forward to our position. One of them, unfortunately for him not wearing a helmet, falls instantly with a neat little hole in his right eye.  
"Damien!" one of them screams and turns around.  
"Shit…" I mutter and fire at the soldier who doesn't turn around.  
"You bitch!" the soldier who turned around screams at me when he turns from his comrade's body. "I'll fucking ki-"  
My gun rips through his armour and he falls over onto the ground.  
The only remaining soldier turns to his fallen comrade, who's wriggling around desperately and screaming as his helmet collapses around him.  
"Don't shoot me!" he shouts and drops his gun.  
"I'll take it from here," Ali snarls and pushes me off of her.

"Get on the ground motherfucker!" Ali screams and points my gun at him, "on the fucking ground!"  
I roll onto my back and sigh before Dogmeat starts to lick my face, "Get off you stupid mutt!"  
"Well, well," I hear Ali grin, "look who's here… You still awake, Winter?"  
"Yeah, yeah," I groan, "unfortunately…"  
"Our help's here."

"Oh what the fuck?" I yell over the noise of the propellers, "Why couldn't we just take a bird there if they have one to spare?!"  
"Because they don't, the only reason we're getting one is because we have intel."  
"Not because I'm about to bleed out? Oh, that's nice."  
A group of soldiers come and pick me up and drag me onto the bird with Ali. They lie me on the bench and two of them walk over and put two bullets into the face of the soldier who was surrendering.  
"No!" Ali shouts, but the two of them shut the sliding door to the vertibird and they instantly take off.  
I shake my head and look up at her from where I'm lying. She looks at me and I reach my hand up and hold hers, "It's alright, Ali."

…

A brotherhood soldier carries me into the private medical ward in the Citadel. Someone lies me onto the bed and I someone puts straps onto both of my wrists.  
"Administer the pain relief," a familiar, honey voice says urgently.  
"Li?" I frown, "What are you doing here?"  
"Saving your ass. What's your blood type?"  
"Ask Dad," I frown. "I'm fine. I'll be okay. It's just a scratch."  
"You'll need a donation," she says firmly.  
"I told you not to take the bullet out!" I snap at Ali.  
"You run the risk of lead poisoning if you don't," Li shakes her head and looks at Ali. "Thank you. I know that she's difficult to deal with her."  
"Hey! I'm sitting right- ow!"

Li sits down at a chair and starts to stitch my arm, "So, what was it this time?"  
"A bullet," I roll my eyes. "Ow! Seriously, are you trying to stitch along my bones?"  
"Oh stop your whining!" she laughs. "Your father doesn't complain as much as you do."  
"My ears are burning," Dad laughs and walks in. "How are you feeling, sweetheart?"  
"Like someone is stabbing into my skin," I smile at Li, who just shakes her head.  
"James she's going to need a transfusion, clean your arm for me will you?"  
Dad nods and sits down in the bed beside her.

"Any word from Amata?" Dad smiles at me as another doctor prepares him.  
"None," I sigh, "but I need you to please, stay with me in Megaton in the weeks before the nine months mark, so we can go quickly to the Vault and help her."  
"She's already seven and a half months. You were born at eight and a half months and you turned out alright."  
"Yeah but I was born with a fragile right leg."  
"Har dee har har," he rolls his eyes as blood fills the bag.

…

After two hours I'm lying on the hospital bed, a few pints of my father's blood coursing through my veins and a stitched up arm. I stare up at the dirty white, cracked ceiling and sigh. I can't sleep; I've got nothing else to do. Ali is asleep in the other room, so it'll give me some time to think. I'm going to be a parent soon to a child that isn't mine. I can't be a "father figure"; I can't willingly raise a child, to be patient and loving and help her with homework and teach her to read. I lie on my bed and play with the ring around my finger subconsciously as I think. I just want to be with Amata, that's all I want. Until this war is over, I can't have that. She's going to have to deal with raising a baby all by herself. If I'm lucky Alphonse will let me stay for maybe a week or two so I can help her. We've had a few babies in the Vault before; they're a shit load of work. Will I even be alive for this? I mean, I let my guard down for two seconds, and I got shot in the arm. If someone had the same amount of skill as I did when it came to shooting, I'd be dead right now. Stupid Enclave though, with their helmets that…

I sit bolt upright on the bed. My hands fumble for my bag instantly and I rip out a worn old sketch book and pencil and open the file that Washington gave me a few weeks ago. I find the diagram of the standard Enclave helmet and flick through the information on it. I quickly sketch the helmet again and put a few "x"s on the points where I _know _I've shot on that helmet; points that caved in. I jump out of bed and get dressed, before slamming the door and going upstairs.

…

I walk up to the main courtyard and walk up to the arsenal bench. I scribble down my name to test and weapon and pick one up.  
"Can I help you with something?"  
I turn around and see Li standing in front of me with her arms folded and an angry look on her face, big surprise, "Winter, you should be in bed."  
"Not now, it's only 6PM," I say hurriedly and pick up the standard BoS hunting rifle. "You have to tell me where they keep Enclave armour."  
"No. Winter, come on, your stitches will get ripped if you fire a gun."  
"I'm onto something here!" I complain and urgently point to the practise dummies. "Li, this is really important. The sooner I finish here, the sooner I can go back to bed."  
Li glares at me for a few seconds, before sighing, "I swear to god you act just like your father sometimes it isn't even funny. Fine, but if you aren't done by 11 I'll send someone out here to carry you back to bed and give you a sedative. They keep the armour in that building over there."  
"Thanks, Li!" I hug her, before running over to the small little shack.

I dress two practise dummies, one in full Enclave uniform, the other in BoS uniform, and grab a can of red spray paint. I spray red circles to the hit markers on the helmet where the Enclave helmets will cave in. I lift the helmets off and place a tomato against the area furthest away from any of the markers, tape it to the dummies heads, and put the helmets back on. I walk about 15 metres from the dummy and fire one round onto both of them. I rip off the helmets and smile. The Enclave tomato is destroyed and red is trickling down the armour, but the BoS one is bruised, but not broken. I do the same thing around the entire body of both armours, and jot down my findings. I'm sure a lot of people will be pissed off that I'm making a lot of noise and destroying perfectly good tomatoes, but fuck it; it's improving our survival rate.

…

"Well, look what happened?" Li sighs as I walk into my room with a grin on my face and carrying a few tomato-stained papers with me. "You've ripped your stitches right open."  
"It's fine. It isn't even bleeding," I shrug and sit down on the bed. "I think I found a way to improve the durability of the soldier's armour."  
"Is that so?" she frowns and sits down beside me and starts to take off my stitches to replace them.  
"Yeah, I found areas where the bullets won't go in with one shot and areas where we can put more padding in."  
"I'll take your word for it," she sighs and starts to re stitch my arm. "You'll want to show that to the scribes though, no point in showing me."  
"Why are you so pissed off?"  
"Because you ignore a doctor's warnings and I'm going to have to deal with your complaining tomorrow morning."  
"Don't," I shrug and watch her stitch me up, "I can take care of myself. I'll be good for duty in a few days anyway."

She sighs and stands up, "Go to bed, Winter."  
"Yes ma'am," I smirk and roll onto my stomach on my bed. "Thank you, for stitching me up."  
"No problem. Goodnight, Winter."  
"Night," I mumble as she turns off the lights.


	3. Chapter 3

I groan and slowly open my eyes, before gasping and sitting bolt upright. Something pins my wrists down and cuts into my skin. I'm lying on a set of rags and my eyes immediately go out of focus. The room around me is on fire, with flames licking the walls and pooling around the ceiling like a gathering spiral of heat. My throat dries up and my eyes water. Smoke immediately floods my lungs and I start to cough. I roll onto my side and suck in air that isn't as badly covered in flame. I sit up and look around and search desperately for an exit. The door, untouched by flame, stands open and around two metres from me. I look back and struggle with the rope around my wrist. It won't budge. I instantly clamp my teeth down onto the rope around my left wrist and tug. I gnaw hard and manage to finally get it loose, stopping every few seconds to break into a coughing fit and suck in clear air. I rip my left wrist out of the rope and tie my right wrist free. My right leg is still attached and I spring to my feet and sprint out of the room.

"What the fuck?!" I shout when I burst out of the flaming room and slam the door behind me. What the hell happened?! Did Li move me? I was just asleep in my room; did the Enclave capture me during the night? Did I get kidnapped?  
I clutch my aching head and suck in air and try to regain my breath. The hallway I'm standing in is filthy, and when I look down I see that I'm only dressed in a pair of rags, with no weapons.  
Okay, step one, find a weapon.  
The hallway is covered in papers and office furniture clumsily thrown about. The wallpaper has since peeled off the walls and broken computers still sit on desks around me. As I take a few ginger steps forward, my feet crunch against the debris around me and I stop dead. I hear a few faint thuds in the distance and I dart behind a filing cabinet.  
"Shit shit shit shit," I whisper and peer around the corner.

A raider stumbles down the hallway, rubbing his face and muttering to himself. I quickly get out of sight and he grunts as he walks down the hallway, "Johnny? You down here buddy? Where's that BoS dick head we found under that bridge? Boss says we have to give him some food."  
He walks ahead of me and I spot his knife against his belt. I swiftly come up behind him, shove a hand over his mouth and rip the knife out of his belt and drive it against the back of his head. He screams and coughs up blood against my hand, before going limp in my arms. I lie him down against the filing cabinet and pat him down.  
"Thank, you…" I whisper and take out a small 9mm pistol and a few clips of ammo. I grab his holster and wrap it around my waist, although it's a little big on me, even on the longest hole I can get to. I crouch down again and creep further down the hallway.

My head throbs and my eyes ache, like I'm on a bad Jet high. It comes in waves, with piercing, deep stabs into my brain every few minutes. I shrug off the pain and stumble further down the building. I've got to find my way out of here, but I can't rush around, it would be easy to get shot that way. I move down a set of stairs with my ears straining to listen. There's a group of raiders moving around me, some conversing, others crashing around the hallways. I take a peek through the hallway and see two raiders talking. Behind them is a door, with the word "prison" spray painted onto it.

I remember them saying that they kept a BoS soldier locked up in there. That poor bastard… god knows what's happened to him. What happened to me? Why am I here? How did I get kidnapped from a hospital room in a heavily guarded military base and taken to a raider camp? Maybe the BoS knows what happened. I only have to pass through these guards and open the door to go and get him and make sure he's safe. I owe it to him anyway; I'm not the type to leave a fellow soldier behind.

I stick my head around the corner. Both of the raiders there are leaning against the wall carelessly and I ready myself to charge for them, before something turns around the corner. "Holy… shit…" I gasp.  
A fucking tiger! How did they get a tiger?! The tiger prowls around the hallway and the walls start to lick with flame again. Shit! The fire must have gone down from the room. The raiders start to melt a little bit from the flames, like wax on a candle. Their heads melt onto their shoulders and their fingers drip onto the floor. They don't scream in agony, in fact, they just relax. The tiger watches them burn, with his golden, sleek, shiny fur glimmering against the flames. He turns to me, with big, golden eyes that bore into mine. His tail starts to slowly wag back and forth, making a whooshing noise as he licks his chops with his big pink tongue.  
"Shit!" I gasp and spring onto my feet. I grab the gun I stole and point and fire at the giant beast. The bullets jam in the chamber.  
"Fuck! Are you serious?!" I yell. I rip out my knife and spot the raiders turn to me. Their melting corpses slowly start to slop towards me, they look like soup; a rich yellow liquid with chunks of brown skulk that towards me. I panic and charge toward them, raising my knife. I dodge the tiger and grab the first one, my hand slides into the thick, warm goo and I almost throw up. I drive my knife into the melted head of the raider, and he goes limp and his body disintegrates to the floor and pools around my feet.

"Die!" the other melted being moans out, his voice booming into my ears. I run forward and he grabs me and throws me to the ground. My head bangs against the floor boards and I look around at the flaming walls around me. One wall is close to a metre from me I lift up my leg and slam it hard against the mid-section and my eyes blurring from the goo that he expels from his head and lands on my face. The heat pounds and bakes whatever is on my face and I hurl the melting raider against the flaming wall and drive my knife into his stomach to keep him there. He screams and his body erupts into flame and I scurry away from him. He charges towards me, screaming and flaming with my knife embedded in the goo where his stomach should be.

In a moment of panic, I grab the gun that jammed and frantically slap the side of it in an attempt to unjam the gun. I pull the trigger, but it doesn't fire. I groan and turn the gun so it points at me and grab the barrel while holding the goo back with my leg, with my leg sinking further and further into the gunk. I smash the butt of the gun into the melted head; making parts of it splash out and hit me. I push him off of me and hit him in the head again and again, more of the goo covering me as the roaring of the flames dominated my hearing.

When the melted man finally stops moving, I freeze in shock when I realise I've forgotten someone. I turn around and see the tiger watching me patiently, his tail wagging slowly, with that whooshing sound still there. The flames roar, and I back away slowly from the tiger, but with every step I take away from him, he takes a step towards me. He looks entertained with his golden eyes gleaming up at me like a child. He lies down on his belly, like he's going to pounce, and all I can do is hold out my knife.

But he doesn't pounce; he just lies in the middle of the hallway with flames gleaming against the walls like a literal red sea. I turn around and look at the door, before slowly backing toward it and open it.

Inside is a man tied up in BoS uniform and only lit by a single light bulb. He's on his knees, tied up and looking down at the floor and making a panting noise.  
"Hey…" I trail off and walk toward him. "Easy… I'm BoS, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm a friendly."  
When I get within two steps of him, he looks sharply up at me. I yell out and stumble back and land flat on my ass. A fucking clown mask! Why?! Big black eyes and a permanent grin on his face with bright orange hair! His screams fill my ears and I struggle to not erupt into a fit of panic. I scrunch my eyes tight and reach forward for him as his screams grow louder. It's only a mask, it's only a mask. My fingers brush against the worn leather and I grip it. I rip the mask off the throw it away and open my eyes. His blonde hair is matted and he's covered in sweat, his bright blue eyes wide in horror as he screams into a gag.  
"Shut up!" I whisper loudly and rip the gag out of him. "Calm the fuck down! People will hear us!"  
He nods rapidly, "Okay. Do you have a weapon?"  
"Nuh uh," I shake my head and hold up the jammed gun, "this is the only one I have. I had a knife but I have no clue where it's gone."  
"Can you untie me?"  
"I don't have a knife. Just stay behind me and we'll find the exit, I promise."

…

I stick my head out into the hallway and look around. The tiger is gone, probably took his chance to run while he still could. The two melted corpses are still there though, though I can't see my knife.  
"Be careful of the fires," I look over my shoulder at him as we creep down the hallway. He doesn't say anything and I slip through an open doorway. A raider is asleep on a worn out green leather couch and I usher the BoS guy in and shut the door behind him. I sneak up to the sleeping raider and slowly slide out his knife. I cover his mouth and plunge the knife into his throat. He instantly wakes up and screams into my hand, though the screams slowly soften into desperate gurgles. Eventually, he goes limp and I slide the knife out of his throat and look over at the BoS, who watches calmly.

"What's your name?" I frown as I reach around and cut the ropes around his wrists.  
"Greg," he acts anxious and I look up at him.  
"You need to relax a bit. I can't get out of here if you're stumbling around here having a panic attack. Greg, I need you to think, do you know where the exit is?"  
"It's right past the cafeteria. They dragged me through there when they brought me here." He says and points me to the room, "but I know there's always someone in there to guard the door."  
"Alright," I hand him the knife. "You good with this?"  
"Yeah," he nods and takes the knife from me, "what will you use, though? A gun butt isn't the greatest of weapons."  
I ignore Greg and crouch down and make my way to the cafeteria on his instructions.

Inside are three raiders, none of whom are facing us. I quickly duck away from the door and look at Greg, who's looking a little less freaked out and more like he's gotten his shit together.  
"Okay, this is how it's going to work," I whisper, "I'm going to make some noise, and they're going to chase me. I'm relying on you to dispatch them for me. Can you do that?"  
He nods and I smile at him, "Wish me luck."  
"Good-"

"Hey, you fucking bastards!" I shout, jumping into the doorway of the cafeteria and spreading my arms wide.  
"What the fuck?!" one of the raiders yells. "Who the fuck are you?!"  
"BoS motherfuckers! Hands up!" I shout and raise my jammed gun.  
"Fuck! Quick Harry!" one raider shouts at another, "kill her!"  
"Shit!" I yell and dive out of the way of a hail of bullets. I sprint down the hallway and past Greg, who's hidden himself behind a table and chairs. My feet pound against the cold tiles and I run up a set of stairs as the three raiders pursue me and shoot a few bullets.  
"Oh shit!" I yell as the walls suddenly burst into flames again. I launch myself onto the ground to avoid the flames and scramble up when they're subsided after a few seconds. The tiles start to get hot and I quickly duck around a corner and enter an old office. I hear them run past me and soon I hear two screams of agony.  
"Shit! How the fuck did she get past us?! Get up Harry you stupid bastard I- argh!"

I stay completely still for a few seconds, before the door slowly opens and Greg walks out holding an assault rifle.  
"Hey, you made it," I laugh. "You okay?"  
"I'm fine. You did good Daniels."  
"Daniels? I didn't- hey!"  
The last thing I see before everything goes black is Greg turning the gun and smashing it against my forehead.

…

"Gah!" I shout and jolt bolt upright on the bed. I breathe heavily and look around. I'm safe, in the Citadel, I'm fine. But damn my head hurts. My eyes are foggy, but I'm still dressed in the clothes I went to bed in.  
"Good morning," Li smiles and walks in with a glass of water. "Bad dream?"  
"I guess… my head kills though…"  
"Yeah that would be the drugs I put you on. You went on a little wander last night, I had to give you some drugs to calm you down a bit."  
"No shit. Where did I go?"  
She shrugs, "I don't know. Some MPs dragged you in here at 4AM this morning. Oh, Sarah Lyons got a hold of those 'improvements' to the armour that you wrote while you were asleep, said she wanted to talk to you."

I feel like absolute shit as I try to walk straight through the halls of the citadel. My head throbs and my throat is sore. What the hell did I do last night? I knock on the door to Sentinel Lyons' office and she opens it.  
"Ah, look who finally woke up," Lyons smiles. "Come in, Corporal. Sit."  
I walk in and sit down at the chair as instructed.  
"Do you know why you're here?"  
I scratch my hair and shrug pathetically, "To be fair Sentinel, I'm just waking up. I have no fucking clue."  
"Hey kiddo," a voice laughs.  
"Shit! What the fuck?!" I yell as Greg walks up from behind me. I start to sit up but he comes up from behind and grabs my throat. I frantically kick the chair away and push myself against him to try and hit his stomach.  
"This one has some fight in her," Greg laughs as I struggle to break free and jab my elbows against his stomach and face.  
"I know," Lyons smirks. "Okay Kodiak, that's enough. Let her go before she starts to bite."  
He releases me and I instantly spring around and swing my fist at his face, "Asshole!"  
"Whoa there!" he laughs and grabs my fist and twists my arm so it's behind my back. "Settle down!"  
"Settle down Corporal," Lyons says firmly, "before I have you discharged."  
"He smacked me in the face with a rifle butt!" I shout defensively as he lets me go.  
"I'm also twice your weight, close to double your height and with years of training under my belt. Try and hit me again and I'll hang you upside down on the citadel courtyard wall until you pass out." Greg sneers.

"Sit down," Lyons barks firmly.  
"Yes ma'am," I mutter and kick my chair up with my shoe and sit down with a sour look on my face.  
"I bet you're wondering what happened to you last night."  
"Yeah, I kinda am," I snap.  
She tuts and shakes her head, "How would you like to have a shot at being in the Lyons' Pride?"  
"Lyons' Pride? Aren't you guys the elite?"  
"Yes ma'am," he grins. "You'd be among the elite, trained to deal with any threat that gets in your-"  
"She doesn't need the advertisement, Kodiak," she sighs and looks at me. "When we pick a candidate for the Pride, we put them to the test. We drugged you and placed you in a raider compound. We drugged the raiders beforehand and gave them jammed weapons. Then, we drop a Pride member in and let them be taken prisoner."  
"What?! That's bullshit! What if they killed you?!" I point at Kodiak. "And why is she calling you Kodiak?"  
"Because that's my real name. Trust me kid, I can handle a bunch of stoned out raiders with jammed guns."  
I frown, "So the flaming walls…?"  
"We put you under a hallucinogenic drug. It was pretty funny, I saw you dive onto the ground for no reason when they were chasing you."

"What if I died?"  
"Nobody has ever died," Lyons says firmly. "We don't nominate hysterical people to undergo these tests. We always put in a candidate's worst fear. Sometimes it's something complicated; like a mutant or a ghoul, but yours was easy to handle. What we were making you on, Daniels, was how you handled yourself. You stayed calm and level headed, even when you were scared, and managed to 'settle' Kodiak down. What do you say, Daniels? You wanna join us as an Initiate? Help some people out?"

"I married an impulsive soldier who runs into the battlefield to help the wounded; I did not marry a coward… It isn't just me you're fighting for anymore... I don't want you to run and save a soldier you know isn't going to make it and then get shot. Am I clear with that?"  
I cross my arm and glance down at the wedding ring on my finger. Being in the Pride will solve all of my financial problems. I'll be paid a shit load of money and we will never need to worry about food, ever. But what would Amata think?

Joining the Lyon's Pride means a full time career, same thing when I was an MP; just more… intense. I'll be gone a few days every month or so and get paid more, win-win. That's all I'll need to tell Amata, I got promoted and therefore a pay raise. "I don't see why not. There's good money."  
She chuckles and nods, "You get paid for doing the dirty work, yeah. You're not technically in the Pride yet."  
"Alright. What's the plan now then?"  
"We get you fitted out with power armour."

"Um…"  
"What?"  
"I… don't really work well with any kind of armour on. I feel restricted with it."  
"It'll keep you alive."  
"I'll be fine. I'll move faster around the battlefield, considering the armour is almost half my weight."  
Sarah leans against her desk and scratches her chin in thought, before she looks up at Kodiak, "What do you think?"  
He shrugs at her then looks at me, "It's her choice."  
"So, when do I start?"  
"Myself or Kodiak will contact you. Kodiak's going to be your handler, you have any questions, you ask him. Sound okay?"  
"Unless he plans to choke me again, I think we'll be fine." I frown as I get up.  
He smiles and holds out his hand, "You have to understand, the only reason I had to knock you out was because we need to keep this discrete. Don't tell anyone about our little talk, okay?"  
I shake his hand and nod, before leaving.

…

"Dogmeat!" I laugh when I walk into the hospital room. His tail wags and he runs up to me. I crouch down and ruffle his fur. His tail wags and he runs circles around me.  
"Amata is going to kill me," I grin at him and sit down on the chair beside my bed.

…

Two days later

"Get up."  
"Huh?" I yawn and groggily open my eyes. I'm tangled in a heap of blankets and struggle to escape them when I see the large looming figure over me.  
"It's 5AM. Time for training."  
"What the- hey!"  
Kodiak flings the blankets off of me and tosses my leg at me, "Get dressed. Meet me in the courtyard in five minutes."  
"What the hell are you-" I groan as I strap on my leg.  
"Now!" he barks.

…

I walk out onto the courtyard and make my way towards Kodiak, who's holding a rifle and has a stack of red circles beside him.  
"What's up?" I yawn and scratch the back of my head.  
"Marksman training," he shoves the rifle into my hands. "I know that you work better with a scope, but you need to put this into practical use. Your targets will not always be far away, you need to be able to shoot quick and accurately. Got that?"  
"Yeah," I nod and load the rifle, "what's the orange stuff?"  
"Clay targets. You shoot them; they break apart into a reddish mist. It's pretty cool, like a reward for hitting your target."  
"O…kay…" I frown, "So you throw them into the air?"  
"Nope. You do. You're going to throw three in air and shoot all three."  
He dumps three orange disks into my hand and I look down at them. Kodiak steps behind me and I hurl them into the air. I grab the rifle and line up my first shot. The first clay target turns into a red mist when I shoot it as the two other targets clump onto the ground, "Ah shit…"  
"You take too long to shoot a single target. Try again."

2 hours later

"Fuck!" I swear and shove the gun onto the ground as one target lands on the ground. "Fucking shit!"  
Kodiak chuckles and walks out into the firing range and into a sea of missed orange targets, "Well, I have to admit, at least you didn't give up so easily. You lasted more than most did."  
"Was this another bullshit test?" I fume and rub my aching shoulder from where the rifle kicked against it. "Did the rifle have a crooked sight or something?"  
"Nope, you just can't shoot fast moving targets for shit."  
"Bullshit, I'm a good shot with a revolver." I slide out my Smith & Wesson. "Give me another chance."  
"Hey, you haven't been kicked out of the Pride, kid." He laughs and steps behind me again and hands me three targets, "but if you want a chance at healing your bruised ego, be my guest."

I take a few deep breaths and close my eyes to calm myself down. I relax myself and concentrate, before hurling the targets in the air. Within half a second my revolver is pointing up. All three targets go up into a mist and slowly trickle down after four shots.  
"Fuck yeah!" I laugh and shove my revolver into the holster and look back at Kodiak. "Did you see that?!"

Kodiak sarcastically applauds and nods at the ocean of targets, "Alright smartass. I want it perfect. You still have two little friends in that barrel of yours? I want you hitting two targets."  
"Don't bother," Lyons says firmly. "Daniels, you up to shoot some mutants?"  
"Mutants? I thought our main problem was the Enclave?" I frown and drop the targets in my hand.  
"They are, but there's a little activity lurking around near Rivet City that we need to go take care of."  
"Sure. I can handle that," I shrug. "Can I bring my dog?"  
Kodiak bursts out laughing and I turn to him, "He's good at sniffing out muties."  
"You can bring your dog, Daniels," Lyons says in a patronising tone.

…

"I really don't think you should be doing this right now," Ali mutters as I zip up a bag full of ammo rounds and water and sling it over my shoulder. "Your arm is still healing and Amata is about to-"  
I won't even be gone a day." I hand her a radio and show her the Vault's radio frequency. "If someone starts a message, run to my father and tell him. It won't happen, and I'll be back by dinner."  
"Does James even know you're going?"  
"No," I smile and squeeze her arm. "I'll be back soon. Make up an excuse for me, alright?"  
"Amata isn't going to like this," she sighs and crosses her arms.  
I reach the door and shrug at her, "Amata doesn't need to know."

* * *

**Thanks to TrueNeutral for being the beta and I'll see you guys later :-)**


	4. Chapter 4

Lyons sharply looks back at me for the millionth time since we've started running. She scowls and rolls her eyes at me as the ammo in my bag rattles and projects sounds through the silent streets. Dogmeat runs beside me and is on his guard. His nose is high in the air and he makes a few sniffing noises every now and then and he stays glued to me.  
"Easy boy…" I trail off as I move over a car. My right foot, however, bangs against the metal from the destroyed car.  
"Shh!" Kodiak whispers loudly.  
"I can't control it!" I whisper back angrily. I lift my foot off the car and place it back onto the ground and pick up my rifle. I catch a few other Lyons' Pride members looking at me, some in pity, and some in annoyance. There are less than 10 members of the Lyons' Pride, and somehow they all move in one singular unit. Everyone always knows exactly where to be, all I do is just duck behind cover and whip out my gun whenever we hear something. I didn't have time to even introduce myself; they didn't really seem to care that I was there anyway.

"If we can thank the Enclave for one thing, they managed to get some of the mutants out of DC," Lyons mutters to no one in particular as we walk around an abandoned apartment complex. The doors and windows are all boarded up, the stairs coated with a fine layer of dust. This could actually be a nice place to have lived once, before the world ended. I look up at a crow squawking and flying away from the top of an apartment building. Figures that the ugliest, most depressing to look at birds got to survive the massive nuclear holocaust and a fucking parrot or something couldn't. I hold my gun tighter in my hands as we near Rivet City, and my eyes dart just a little more often. They sweep the area; examine every little movement and my ears strain to hear anything suspicious. Dogmeat covers the smell part of looking for hostiles, and it isn't long before he spots something.

His body jolts straight, his tail sticks out and he growls.  
"Stay close," I look down at him and make a clicking noise with my mouth. He never strays too far from me and Lyons looks at me as I follow him. The Pride follows me and I turn a corner. We see one mutant standing outside a gate with an assault rifle.  
"Do I engage?" I turn and look at Kodiak.  
"Go for it."

I aim my rifle and fire. It's a clean shot through the brain and he barely screams before he collapses in a heap onto the ground.  
"Nice shot new kid," some chick in power armour laughs and claps my shoulder, "That's a good 100 feet. Only took you half an hour to fire the shot too."  
"I didn't see you taking the shot," I mutter and stand up.  
"Daniels, Dusk, don't start fighting," Lyons mutters, "Dusk, two muties, 12 o'clock."  
"Got it," Dusk slings her rifle over her shoulder and takes a step back. The gun fires directly next to my ear and I instantly smash the side of my head with my palm in an attempt to protect my ear.

My right ear loses all hearing and I stumble away from her. I refuse to show that I'm hurt and my hearing slowly comes back as I grab my rifle and shoot at a mutant charging towards us. The shot rips through his chest and he falls down. Dogmeat immediately runs toward the mutants with a wooden board and sinks his teeth into his arm while I duck behind cover. The Pride instantly gets to work as five mutants come pouring out of the gates; with my dog only a few metres away from them.  
"Dogmeat!" I shout. He hears my voice before the gunfire and starts running back toward me. I grab him by his collar and yank him behind cover.

"Stay!" I bark at him, before peeking my head out of cover and grabbing my revolver. I stand up and fire three shots, not one of them missing their targets. I take off my bag and open it.  
"Daniels! Don't you dare!" Lyons shouts as I grab a grenade.  
"I know how to use one!" I shout back over the gunfire, before pulling the pin with my teeth and waiting two seconds and hurling it over the gate. I dive under cover and cover my ears when I hear the explosion. Dust kicks up and covers my face and I frantically pick myself up.  
"Ha! I like this kid!" another Pride member laughs as I duck under cover beside the gate. "She does all the work!"

I look up the hill at the camp and I hold another grenade. I look at Lyons for permission, and she nods at me. I pull the pin and hurl it at the centre.

"_Fuck_!" I shout as the grenade and four landmines set off around it. I duck down and Dogmeat runs forward and sinks his teeth into the forearm of a mutant that comes sprinting out of the camp with a large part of his other arm missing. I grab my knife and drive it into his skull and rip it out again as he passes me. He slumps onto the ground and I rip out my revolver and storm into the camp after the Pride.

Inside everything is blown up into a million pieces. I hear the screams of a few dying mutants as they roll around on the ground. However, one charges towards Dusk with his nailboard raised and screaming.  
"Shit!" she shouts as she points her gun and realises her mag is empty. I instantly push her out of the way, grab my revolver and shoot him point blank in the face from less than five feet. Instantly the force of the bullet sends him flying back and his brains spill out like a volcano onto the ground the second he hits it.  
"I could have handled it," Dusk grunts as she picks herself up off the ground. "Thanks though."  
"No problem," I sigh and wipe some brain gloop off my arm.

I shoot at a few remaining super mutants and stab one that claws his way towards me with both legs blown off.  
"Jesus Christ…" I whisper and shake my head. "Poor bastard."  
"They're out of their misery now, kid," Kodiak smiles and puts a hand on my shoulder. "You did good. First shot at the bar's on me."  
"Huh?"  
"We're going to go get drinks in Rivet City," Dusk smiles and holsters her guns. "I think I owe you a drink too."

…

"Nuka and rum," I drum my fingers against the table and nod at the barkeep.  
He nods and the other Pride members order their drinks. We're held up in the market area of Rivet City, which is drowning in noise. The sound of dozens of people talking and sometimes arguing with each other makes it difficult to think, that and the smell. The entire place stinks of damp toilet paper mixed with cooking meat, but I really don't mind.

"You might want to know why we've been so cold to you," Kodiak grunts and sits down at a table with his beer.  
"I guess… Do I want to know?"  
"How old are you, kid?"  
"I just turned 22."  
"Exactly, you're young, and you're careless. We don't expect recruits to last their first 'mission' so to speak, even if they're trying out for the Pride, _especially_if they're getting around on one fake leg. Only reason we didn't want to get close to you-"  
"It's because you expected to be carrying me back to base in pieces," I smirk incredulously and take a sip of my drink.  
"More or less," Dusk shrugs, "but, you can handle yourself pretty well. A few more training sessions working on your aiming time and you'll be good as gold."  
"I'm so happy I saved you all the burden of carrying my corpse back to the Citadel… Why aren't you drinking, Lyons?" I ask as I look over at Lyons, who sipping on water.  
"I'm looking after you all in the inevitability that you get drunk and decide to fall over and make fools of yourselves."  
I laugh and take another drink.

"New kid can hold her drink," Dusk smirks and sits down at the stool beside me. "What is that? Your third round?"  
"Second," I say half defensively as I suck on a beer.  
"You're a pretty good shot, y'know that?"  
"Yeah, you told me."  
"If you and I are going to be working together, we need to go hunting sometime."  
"I'm down." I nod and finish my beer. "You hunt?"  
"Yeah. My good ol' dad used to take me hunting bloat flies and mole rats when I was little. He taught me a few things I think I can pass off to you."

I hear a loud crash and shout from the other side of the bar.  
"Gallows!" Lyons shouts and storms up to the Pride soldier wrestling with a violent young man on the ground.  
"What the fuck…?" I exchange glances with Dusk, before rushing to the fight.  
"Gallows!" Dusk shouts and helps Lyons pry them away.

"Back off!" I shout at the angry civilian with my hand on my gun as he scrambles to his feet.  
His lip is bloodied and he wipes the blood off and spits at me and pulls out a knife.  
"Easy!" I shout and pull out my revolver and shout at Dogmeat to stay when he barks. "Go home. I really don't want to hurt you."  
He glares at me and I simply look back at him.  
"You won't live through this if you stab her," Dusk growls.  
"Just drop the knife, and go home," I say calmly.  
He snarls and bares his teeth, before dropping the knife and storming off. The knife bounces and clatters around the floor a little bit, before landing harmlessly at the tip of my shoe.

"What the fuck was that about, Gallows?!" Lyons shouts at the Pride member as I pick up the knife and tuck it into my belt.  
"I don't know! He just tried to tackle me!" he grunts.  
"Why?" she growls.  
"I have no idea," he sighs, "I got up to take a piss, and then he jumped me."  
"Seriously?" I frown and cross my arms. "I get fucked up like that sometimes, and even I need a little provoking before shit stats to get serious."  
"May I remind everyone that we're in Rivet City," Gallows argues. "The people here aren't exactly the exactly the paragons of virtue."  
"True. Can we go home now?" Dusk sighs, "I don't like the way people are looking at us."  
I look at Lyons and shrug.  
Lyons sighs, "Okay kiddies, let's go home."

…

_August 2279_

I slowly open my eyes and look around and sigh. The same metal walls, the same bright flickering lights and emotionless artwork greet me as I sit up. I shut off the alarm that woke me up and run a hand through my hair, before sitting up. Almost instantly I feel a little nudge and smile down at my bump.  
"I know, I know," I laugh quietly, "I'm hungry too."  
I get up and groan. My ankles are already killing me. I haven't gained much weight either, barely 15 pounds, but damn it's hard carrying a baby. I look at my pip-boy and sigh. Almost eight and a half months now. I'll be due any minute, and I have no idea where Winter is. I can't get a radio signal from this far down the Vault, and I'm forbidden to go any higher. I walk to the small little kitchen and look in the fridge. I pour myself a glass of milk and lean against the breakfast table. I slide off my wedding ring and subconsciously tap it against the metal as I drink. I have to be at work by 8, and it's already 7:30. I'm the Vault doctor now, James would be proud of me. Granted, the job is only giving medicine to kids with colds and bandaging a few sprained ankles, but it keeps my mind off things.

I reluctantly get dressed, shamefully into a shirt that swims on me and jeans that I need a belt to keep up, and slide on my wife's MP jacket. I grasp the collar and try to smell Winter in the fibres, her smell's starting to fade. That's when my anxiety starts to kick in.

Is she okay? Where is she right now? Is she asleep at home in Megaton? Or is she lying in a hospital bed in critical condition? Is she sick? Is she healthy? Is she lost or trapped somewhere? Is she… No, no she isn't dead. Winter's too stubborn to die. She promised me that she'd be okay, and I believe her. My little guy kicks me again and I rub my stomach as I open the door to walk to work. I can't wait to finally meet him. I know it's a boy, despite Winter's insistence that the child is a girl, but I can never really change her mind on much.

I open the door to James' office and fight back the pang of memories. I turn on the computer and unlock the safe to the medical supplies I will need for today, and then sit down. I run a hand through my hair and look down at the mounting files on my desk that Dad dumped there for me to "study". I grab one file and open it. A 17 year old Winter Daniels stares at me in a black and white photo. Her bright blue eyes are shown in a light grey and stare into mine, with a bloodied nose and a shadow of a black eye after Wally Mack exacted his revenge when Winter slept with his sister. She has a criminal file here, for assault and several cases of attempted murder. I close the file shut and flick it away to the corner of my desk. Obviously, this file was absolutely not meant to be seen by me as an attempt by my father to avoid Winter like poison, because my father _adores_Winter. If he'd seen the things that Winter has done, the pain she has both endured and inflicted, getting into a fight and shooting someone in the foot wouldn't mean shit.

I get up, straining slightly with my aching ankles and slightly sore back, and walk over to the filing cabinet with the Vault's medical records inside. I unlock it with the key in my jacket and slide it open. I flick through the files and reach mine. It's under Almodovar, it isn't exactly difficult to find. I take it out, and sit back down and pull out a black pen. The file photo of me is obviously a few years old; taken when I was around 16 or 17. My criminal record is blank, obviously. Even though I shot my father in the leg, which would be assault with a firearm, it's squeaky clean. I grab my pen and scrawl out my name and replace it with Amata Daniels and write Winter's name down as my spouse, next of kin, and emergency contact. I close my file and skim through Winter's, grabbing a photo of her dated two months before we exited the Vault; one where her face isn't damaged. I tuck it into my pocket and shut her file again. I turn on the computer and enter several passwords, then go into the electronic files.

God, I'm useless with typing on computers. I need Winter here with me. She knew what she was doing around these. I go to mine and enter the password (Catherine, if you can believe it). It has my standard information, then something I haven't seen before; a document written by James when I was 14 years old.

_Once again, the Overseer has insisted on being in the room for Amata's examination, throwing any inkling of doctor-patient confidentiality right out the window. I know he doesn't trust me; he never has. But I honestly believe the reason he attends his daughter's medical appointment is because he doesn't trust her. That's as ridiculous as it is sad. I know the reason is partly because of Winter. To be honest, I don't blame him. My daughter is young, childish, and stupid. Amata's willingness to be even affiliated with the child is completely beyond me. The Overseer knows that Winter is a bad influence on Amata, I think he keeps expecting some tattoos on her or some kind of drugs in her bloodstream. Amata's a great girl, and the chance of her doing something stupid - pregnancy, syphilis, whatever - is so unlikely it's not even worth mentioning. If only Winter would take from her example..._

I chuckle slightly as I remember the stupid girl I grew up with in the Vault; the one who constructed her own skateboard in the Vault's lower depths and zoomed around the corridors like a lunatic at full speed. The one who could climb a tree faster than any kid in the Vault and dangle off a branch with one arm. She infuriated _everyone_back then at some point, she was just as immature and careless as James' report declared. I miss my Bright Eyes, but the girl who first ran out of that Vault with me is long dead. I want her back around me; I want to be with her. But…

I reach my hands down and touch my bump. I cannot, _will not_ put this baby in danger, even if it means having to be without Winter for a while longer. I don't care who the father is… even though Winter killed him. I refuse to talk to Dad or Susie about what happened, because I don't have time to think. I only dream about it, of Winter sobbing over me, and begging for forgiveness and for me to stay alive. I can't remember it happening. I can't remember him on top of me, or what he looks or sounds like. I only remember someone telling me he was dead and Winter had slaughtered him. I remember that word exactly, "slaughtered," not murdered, not stabbed, not shot; the man who raped me was _slaughtered_by the woman I love. I believed it the second I had heard it. The baby that came from that, that day of pure, horrifying violence and anger; that baby is _mine_. As far as I'm concerned, he doesn't have a biological father.

My subconscious thinks that Winter is… I don't know. I don't think that she has anything to do with him biologically, I just think that Winter will be… I don't know… a "father" figure? I mean, she's an MP for the BoS, she'll be a hero in the boy's eyes!

…

I finish work, with nobody coming in to talk to me or in need of medical attention. I walk down the hallways and reach my father's office. His office always smells of strange cologne that harasses my nose. I tap my knuckle against the metal side of his open door. Dad is staring at his computer screen, with the security cameras always on around him, probably to keep a certain black haired demon from storming the place like last time.  
"Hello," he grumbles and looks up at me. "What is it Amata?"  
I close my eyes and ignore the cold welcome. It's just the way Dad is.  
"How are you Dad?"  
"What do you need, Amata?" he sighs and looks up at me, finally.  
"Dad I… I think it's time."  
"You aren't due until next month Amata." He grumbles, "The last thing I need is Daniels running around our Vault again causing more and more trouble."  
"Exactly. I'm due next month, but that could mean two weeks from now, or five. I have _no_idea where Winter is, or James. She could be in Pittsburgh for all I know. I know James will be in the Cita… he'll be close. And I _know_he'll be on his best behaviour, it was his idea to send me here anyway."  
Dad looks up at me and shakes his head, "Do you know what kind of affect Winter will have on this community?"  
"She won't be the stupid girl who grew up here Dad. She's my wife. Trust me, I'll keep her in line."  
He glares at me and buries his face in his hands.  
"Fine. But _one_little _hint_that _either_of them are causing something, they're out of here. Understand?"  
"Thank you!" I grin and hug him tightly, before running to the Vault entrance to send out the message.

…

_Two days later_

I rub my eyes tiredly and sit up on the couch where I passed out. Something smells good, really good. It figures that good food wakes me up. I follow my nose to the kitchen, where Ali is cooking and chopping up some apples I brought home in a sack when we went back to Megaton from the Citadel.  
"No, please," I chuckle and flick my wrist at her, "help yourself to my food."  
She pokes her head out of the kitchen and rolls her eyes, "Someone has to cook around here. All you do is eat cold food."  
"Ain't nothing wrong with cold iguana bits," I smirk and sit down on the couch, thumbing through an old, battered copy of _Hamlet_that I "borrowed" from the Citadel library, before getting bored and tossing it back onto the table.  
"Oh, by the way, when you were asleep on the couch earlier your Pip-boy lit up and made a static noise. It didn't wake you up so I left it."  
"Ah shit," I groan. "If this is the Pride again… Wait… Oh Christ it's been almost nine months."  
"Oh shit! It isn't what I think it is, is it?" Ali gasps.  
I walk upstairs and go onto my radio section. Wouldn't you know it, a broadcast from Vault 101. My fingers fumble with the buttons for a few seconds, before I gingerly activate the broadcast.

_"Winter, it's me."_  
I grin like an idiot as I hear my wife's voice for the first time in almost five months. It hasn't changed, she sounds so excited and happy to talk to me.  
_"Honey, I don't know if you've been keeping track, but we're getting close to the due date. I've been talking with Dad and I think you and James should come back here. Don't worry, nothing bad has happened, the baby is healthy and is kicking the crap out of me. I just want you back here. Please honey, come back soon, okay? I love you."_

Shit. I over-estimated the range the Vault's broadcast signal could reach. We got home from Megaton at three in the morning, and I was _way_too tired to recognise the static that comes from my Pip-boy when a new radio signal is registered, and every 12 hours when I don't investigate it. How long has this message been up?! Has she had the baby? I've been gone for a while… she'll be worried sick.

I rush down the stairs and pull on my jacket.  
"What? What's wrong?" Ali gasps and abandons the cooking.  
"Nothing, at least, not yet." I turn around and grab Ali's shoulders. "I need you to send a radio request for James Daniels and Doctor Madison Li. Tell them to get to the next vertibird to Megaton, then send them to the Vault. Alright?"  
"How long will you be gone?"  
"I don't know, two months? Maybe three? I don't know." I look down at Dogmeat, who's at my feet, as usual. Amata loves the little guy, seeing him will be a giant help for Amata.  
"Take care of Kai for me, alright?"  
"Wait! Winter you aren't thinking straight." She sighs, "You need to bring clothes."

Like an idiot I spend the next 15 minutes throwing clothes carelessly into a bag, grabbing anything that will fit me. I yank on a hat and shove my gun in its holster.  
"I'll look after Kai and the house." Ali smiles and puts a hand on my shoulder. "You need to be calmer now. If Amata is in labour and you run in there having a freak out, you won't help the situation. Be calm, deep breaths, and be there."  
I close my eyes and nod, before jamming a finger jokingly under her nose, "No parties… and no sex on my bed."  
"Yes mother, who is younger than me," she smiles as I grab Dogmeat's leash and open the door. "Have fun with the baby."

…

I sprint out of Megaton in a surge of adrenaline and spend 10 minutes running for the Vault. Dogmeat follows me, sensing my excitement and his tongue hanging out of his face like a big idiot. I shove the wooden door open and cough as the musty, dark smell hits me again. I ignore it and walk up to the security camera. It's three in the afternoon, surely Alphonse is still in his-  
I hear the loud buzzer, then a sharp hiss of air, then the Vault door slowly slides open. Within an instant I'm met at gunpoint by three security guards.  
"On your knees," Wally Mack barks.  
"I can't do it that great," I chuckle. "My leg-"  
Wally grabs me and shoves me down onto my stomach.  
"Stay." I smile at Dogmeat.

"I'm a married woman, Wally," I smirk as he pats me down and checks my back pockets.  
"Shut up, Winter," he mutters and rips out my revolver and kicks it away from me. "Why did you bring a gun here?"  
"Because my house is a ways from this Vault. You always bring a gun, everywhere… Can I get up now? I don't like having a conversation on my stomach."  
He mutters to himself and helps me up. I dust myself off and ruffle Dogmeat's fur.  
"Follow me," Mack sighs and picks up my gun. "You'll get this back when you leave the Vault again."  
"That's a nice piece," another Vault guard I can't name smirks and picks it up. "Heavy too."  
"I wouldn't recommend firing it," I mutter as I follow Mack up the stairs.  
"Fuck off," he chuckles and walks past me. He moves up and points the gun at a safety sign. The stupid idiot probably never fired a high powered gun in his life, and it shows. He jerks the trigger, holding the gun with only one hand. The barrel of the gun immediately flies up and smashes against his nose. Blood spurts onto my barrel and he collapses onto the ground, howling in pain. I hold back laughter and shake my head, before picking up my revolver and wiping the blood away on his security vest.  
"Give me the gun," Mack snarls, "I don't care what Amata will think. I have no qualms shooting you."  
"Go ahead. See what happens when you shoot the Overseer's daughter-in-law," I smile, before snapping open the barrel and letting the rounds fall out. "It's empty, alright? Just let me go see Amata. I won't do anything that would risk getting Amata kicked out of here."  
He frowns, "Go. But we'll be watching you."

…

I sprint down the hallway with Dogmeat at my side. He must have picked up Amata's scent, because he starts barking and runs ahead of me. I let his lead go and watch him barrel down, his nails scratching the ground. He turns the corner and runs into the doctor's office.  
"Dogmeat!" I hear Amata gasp. I listen to him bark loudly and probably jump all over her.

I walk in after a few seconds and gasp. She hasn't noticed me yet, still laughing and petting Dogmeat as she sits down on a chair. She's gained little to no weight. It's like she's exactly the same, except someone stuffed a basketball up her shirt. She's wearing one of my BoS jackets, with her honey blonde hair tied in a messy bun. She looks beautiful.  
"Amata," I stumble. She looks up at me and her smile turns into a grin. She stands up and runs towards me. I catch her and she hugs me tightly, only saying one word into my ear.  
"Winter," she sighs and buries her face into my neck.  
I smile and kiss the top of her head. She moves her head away and I see her eyes rimmed red with tears. I grab the side of her cheek and pull her towards me and kiss her lips deeply. Her arms immediately wrap around my neck and she pulls me as close as she can towards me. I grin against her lips and eventually pull away.

"You okay?" I smile and cradle her cheek when she starts crying.  
"I've missed you so much," she laughs and wipes some tears away. "I don't… sorry I'm crying a lot now. I just… I can't believe you're here."  
"I am so, so sorry. I was in the Citadel for a few weeks and-"  
"The message has only been up for a few days, honey," she whispers and cuddles me, "but damn you smell bad."  
I laugh and smell my clothes, "I hadn't really noticed…"  
"You smell like Rivet City," she starts to unzip my jacket.

"Woah!" I laugh and look around, "Your Dad is watching my every move as we speak, please don't strip me down just yet."  
She rolls her eyes, then hugs me again and rests the side of her head against my shoulder, "I love you so much."  
"I love you," I smile and rest my chin against the top of her head. "I'm gonna take a shower, okay?"  
"Don't take too long," she chuckles, "I'm going to play with Dogmeat. Meet me back here and we'll have dinner together."  
I nod and hand her my holster, "Take this, It's empty, but I don't want to lose it when I'm showering."  
She takes it and smiles, leaning forward and brushing her lips against mine and murmuring, "I absolutely will not be loading it, then."  
I smile and kiss her a final time, before leaving.

…

I step out of the shower dressed in some clean clothes, my wet hair stuck around my face and covering part of my eyes and the very back of it sticking to the bottom of my neck.  
"What I wouldn't give for you to get rid of that messy mop," Amata sighs and looks at my hair with disdain.  
"You love my hair," I smirk objectively and sit down on the bed that used to be mine after hopping around like an idiot.  
"I lied," she sits down behind me and ruffles my hair to make it spikey. My body feels warm and numb after the hot shower and I fall onto my side.  
"You always strike me where it hurts the most," I whine jokingly.  
"Baby's kicking," she smiles. "Want to feel? I've been kicked at all day."  
I roll onto my back and raise an eyebrow at her, "She's kicking you that much?"  
"It's a boy, Winter," Amata chuckles and strokes my hair as I lie there.  
I carefully touch my wife's stomach. For a few seconds there's nothing, then a light little kick bangs against my palm. I rip my hand away in shock and Amata bursts out laughing, "Oh you are such a dumbass. I'm amazed you didn't step on another landmine."  
"Hey!" I whine, "I did okay on my own!"  
"Not at all. You're skinnier than you usually are, your hair is a choppy mess, you have a bruise on your shoulder which means you've been fighting a lot, and your leg hasn't been cleaned in what looks like weeks."  
"I forgot how bossy you can be," I smile and sit up. "I'm fucking starving. C'mon. Let's get something to eat."

…

**Thanks to TrueNeutral for being beta :-) Leave a review and I'll see you guys later.**


	5. Chapter 5

_Beep! Beep-beep!_

"Fuck!" My eyes snap open and my body jolts to avoid the landmine. I look around when I don't see an explosion. I stumble and tap my left hand onto my left leg, it's still there. Lefty's still around, righty isn't. Fuck me; that's a depressing dose of reality to start my day with.

I hear the beeping beside my head and see it's a stupid alarm clock. I turn it off and look to my right and see Amata asleep beside me, using my shoulder as a pillow and one arm across my stomach. She stirs awake and rolls away from me and starts to get up.  
"Hey," I smile and brush my fingers up her tricep, "where're you going?"  
She turns around and grins, "So, you weren't a dream, then."  
I smirk and peck her lips, "A dream?"  
"No, more like a nightmare," she teases and kisses me properly, then stands up. "I'm going to work. Dad has me working _your_ dad's old job."  
"You poor woman," I yawn and roll back onto my side, pulling the blanket over me and rolling around so it's a cocoon.  
"Wait, what are you doing?" she frowns and taps my ankle.  
"What does it look like? I'll bring you some lunch at midday, 'kay?"  
"Nuh uh, you're coming with me."  
"What?! Why?" I gasp as she yanks the blankets off me.  
"Because I promised Dad that I would keep tabs on you. If your dad is at the Citadel, he won't get here until maybe tonight. I'm babysitting you until then."  
"You do remember that I'm six months older than you?"  
"Physically? Yes. Mentally?… Nah."  
I groan, get up and pull on a pair of shorts.

…

"I'm so _bored_!" I groan and lean back in my chair, spinning it around and looking up at the ceiling.  
Amata is hunched over her computer, typing at an unbearably slow pace. Even when I beg to let me take over and have her dictate what I need to type, she insists that I stay put. For the millionth time this hour I stare at the clock, listening to the seconds go ticking by, getting louder with each passing minute. I make a clicking noise with my mouth to keep in time with the seconds, but after I'm bombarded with screwed up paper balls from Amata, I shut up. Dogmeat stays asleep at Amata's feet, and won't come over to me when I call him. He really missed her, and I feel bad because of it. Poor little guy kept sniffing Amata's side of the bed every morning looking for her. I rest my beaten up Converse shoe on the metal wall and push off, slowly rolling past Amata and against her desk.

"I swear to god I'm going to kill you," she mutters as I start bouncing a fake glass eye on the table. "Can't you read a book or something?"  
"I could be asleep right now," I yawn and smile. "Maybe we could go back there during lunch break. I remember where the cameras are. I could cover them up with a-"  
"Winter, I'm not having sex with you when I'm supposed to be working."  
"Didn't stop you that time when you were working at Church's clinic," I purr and hop behind her and start kissing her neck. "I'm amazed we've only done that once. Since when were you obsessed with working?"  
"Winter you're annoying me."  
I smile and wrap my arms around her middle, "Fine, I'll be quiet."  
She sighs and reaches up to touch my cheek, "I love you. Just… I don't know, _try _to keep still?"

I walk over to the doctor's bench beside and lie down.  
"Are you worried?" I turn my head and look at her.  
"About what?"  
"The baby."  
"Of course I am," she sighs and looks over at me. "I was still out there for four months before I came back here. I _think _that the baby is healthy; but I don't know what I'm supposed to be feeling."  
"She's kicking you, she has to be strong," I smile assuringly. "Everything will be fine, Amata."  
"You don't know that," she shakes her head. "I hate it when you say that."  
She looks at my frowning face and shakes her head, "But words cannot express how happy I am that you are here with me. I don't know if I could do this without you."  
"You can do this; with or without me. But you know I'll be with you."

"You're a wonderfully annoying distraction, Winter Daniels," she smiles. "How's the BoS? You're still an MP?"  
Nope.  
"Yeah, same old same old," I shrug. Oh dear god what have I done? Why do I lie to the human lie-detector when I can just change the subject?  
She looks at me for a while and she frowns. I smile innocently up at her and her eyes narrow, "What?"  
"Nothing," she shakes her head and rubs her stomach and grunts a bit.  
"You okay?"  
"Yeah, just a big kick."

"Just wait less than 12 hours, and then she can come out whenever she wants."  
"You're going to look like such an ass when that baby comes out and it's a boy," she mutters with a bitter sound to it and looks back at her computer screen.  
"Hey," I frown, "what did I do?"  
She sighs and rubs her eyes tiredly, "There's a miniature human constantly kicking me that's_inside me_ and I'm going to have to push it out in a few weeks' time; which will be the most painful experience of my life. I'm going to be a little on edge, honey. I'm sorry."  
"Again, I'm more than happy to help you with work."  
She chuckles and shakes her head, "You just don't get it, do you?"  
"No, I fucking don't," I snap. "Cut me some fucking slack Amata. I'm doing my best here."  
She glares at me, "Oh, of course, I have to figure you're the centre of everything here."  
"I never said I was!" I shout incredulously, getting up and standing on just one leg. "I _love_you, okay? Did I leave you when I found out you were pregnant-"  
"Yes! Yes you _fucking _did!" she shouts. "You dumped me in this shit hole to run off and be a soldier! When you _know _I could have just stayed in the Citadel and have been _fine_."  
"I did this so you would be safe! When the war is over, we can be a family again. I don't want you to get hurt. If I wanted to run off and be soldier, then why am I here? Why did I drop _everything _and run to your side?" I grab her hands firmly. "I love you, Amata; more than anything. You aren't a burden to me, and you never will be."  
She bursts into tears and flings her arms around me, "I'm sorry!" she bawls and pushes me down to meet her eye level, even though I'm only four inches taller than her.  
I look slightly alarmed and I put my arms around her.  
"Don't go," she begs in a blubbering sob. "Please don't leave me! I can't do this without you! I'm sorry!"  
"It's fine, honey," I try to assure her, even though I'm terrified. "I'm not going anywhere."

"And that, ladies and gentlemen, was the past three months for me."  
"Not a good time Susie," I sigh irritably as Amata cries into my shoulder.  
Susie walks in and sits down on the plastic chair beside the desk Amata works on, "How's paradise?"  
I smile and reassuringly kiss Amata's cheek when she starts to calm down a bit, "It's fine, beautiful."  
"How're you doing, Winter?" she smiles. "How goes the war?"  
Amata bursts into tears again and tightens her grip around me.  
"I love you," Amata cries. "Please don't die! Please!"  
"What do you want Susie?" I ask and rub her back.  
"Your dad's here."  
"What? It's barely midday."  
"Well he's here; with some Asian chick."  
I nod at her, and then she gets up and leaves.

"Hey," I whisper and stroke her cheek, sitting down on the doctor's bed beside her, "I'm not going to die, okay?"  
"You can't promise that, Winter," she sniffs loudly and wipes her teary eyes.  
"I can. I _promise_ you that this war won't kill me," I say firmly and grasp her hand. "I won't let it. I won't let anybody or anything stand between you and me."  
She laughs quietly and rests her head against my shoulder, "I didn't marry a coward."  
"No," I softly kiss her hair, "you didn't."  
"I love you," she whispers and puts an arm around my neck and resting her forehead against mine.  
"I love you," I murmur in between kisses, "so, much."  
She kisses me deeply and props herself up so she's sitting in my lap. I hug her tightly and smile against her lips when her hand moves to finger the waist band of my shorts, "I think we should stop now, I really don't want Dad to walk in on us."  
She sharply pulls away and purses her lips, "Hmm, good point."

I get Amata off her feet and she calms down properly before Dad and Li walk in.  
"I need to talk to you," they both say instantly when the see me sitting beside her.  
I point at Amata, "No. Talk to her, she's the pregnant one."  
"Madison, I need you to give Amata an examination. Winter, come with me."  
"Don't go," she says firmly and grasps my hand. "If you set foot outside of this Vault I will find and kill you. Understand?"  
I smile and peck her lips, "I'm not going anywhere. I'll be right outside."

…

I walk (with crutches) outside with Dad, who swiftly whacks the back of my head.  
"Ow!" I whisper loudly, "What the hell was that for?!"  
"I'm trying to kick-start the common sense part of your brain," he whacks me a few more times before I push him back with one of my crutches.  
"Have you lost your mind?!" he whispers angrily. "First you decide to join by far the most dangerous group in the Brotherhood, _then _you decide to drop off the face of the Earth and go AWOL!"  
"I had Ali explain everything," I snap.  
"Does Amata know?"  
"No, she doesn't. And she doesn't need to know."  
"She's your _wife _Winter, and the mother of your child."  
"It isn't my child!" I snap. "And she doesn't need to know because everything will be _fine_. I'm getting paid three times what I usually do, and I know what I'm doing."  
"Winter, I know I don't say this much, but I love you," he grabs my shoulders firmly. "But, you _will _die if you keep doing this. And what will Amata do then?"

"And how am I supposed to support the baby?" I lean against the wall and cross my arms. "What I was making as an MP wouldn't be enough for food and supplies."  
"And what happens when you die and the money stops coming?"  
"20,000 caps mailed to the address of Amata Daniels," I shrug. "I'll be only fighting part-time, so I'll be home to help with the baby; assuming this war is over before the kid grows up."  
"You and I both know that this war will be over by '81. The Enclave won't-"  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I wave my hand dismissively, "BoS will trample the Enclave, victory will be ours. I'm going for a safety net here, Dad."  
He shakes his head, "Unfortunately your boss has forgiven you for your stupidity."  
"Nice to see that you two are getting along, as always," Alphonse mutters and walks up to us, his hands behind his back in a proud way that makes my skin crawl. "Hello James, Winter."  
I nod at him and so does Dad. Alphonse looks his usual eerie calm state, not that I'm used to it at this point.  
I roll my eyes and walk back into the doctor's office, leaving the two of them to continue to talk in the hallway.

Amata's shirt is pulled up so it's exposing her stomach, with Li holding a stethoscope against her and listening carefully.  
"Everything doing okay?" I frown.  
"From what I can gather," she concentrates. "We'll have the ultrasound soon anyway."  
Amata grins at me, but I don't smile yet, "You know how to work one of these?"  
"Of course," Li smiles, pointing at the ultrasound machine… thing, "I did one on you when you were just a fetus, Winter. In fact, I was the first person to ever see a picture of you. Well, you and Matthew."  
"Who's Matthew?" Amata frowns as she lies down on the bed.  
"Some kid that grew up in the Project," I shrug, before giving Li a look. She instantly shuts up and I smile at Amata. Li spreads on the weird gel on Amata's stomach, then puts the camera… thing on her. Funny how I'm the child of two doctor/scientists and I have no idea what half the stuff around this office is or does.

"Well, there's your baby," Li smiles. I can see her, a vague outline of a baby, but the image is definitely there. Amata stares at the screen for a long time, smiling with tears running down her face. I sit down beside her and hold her hand.  
"He looks so… normal," she whispers and touches the screen, "I don't believe it."  
"Do you want to know the sex? I know you two have been arguing over it," she smiles.  
Amata looks at me and shrugs, "What do you want to do?"  
I chuckle and shrug back, "You're carrying the kid."  
"But you're the-"  
"Will you two just agree on something?" Li sighs irritably.  
I grab a bottle cap, "Face up we know, face down we don't."  
I flick it into the air and it lands face down.  
"It'll be a surprise, I guess," she grins.  
"If you change your mind, I know, so come and see me anytime."

…

Amata and I go back to her apartment after Alphonse and Dad came back. He had ordered us back to our apartment to get some rest while Dad and Li work the clinic under heavy guard to (earn their stay). We both lie together in bed with my arms wrapped around her.  
"You okay?" I frown when she puts her hand over mine.  
She doesn't say anything for a long time, then she looks over her shoulder and at me, "Promise me that you won't leave me."  
I chuckle and kiss her temple, "I'm not going anywhere-"  
"Sure, when it's just the two of us. I-"  
"Honey," I sit up and look at her, "I'm not going to leave you."  
"Yes you will, when you have to go back out there."  
"I won't be gone forever," I smile down at her and stroke her hair. "You've gotta trust me."  
She gives a small smile and kisses my wrist, "I do."  
"I know you do. And I know that you love me… it's just someone else that I'm worried about. Do we have a crib?" I frown and look around the room.  
"We'll be moving into a two bedroom once he's born," she smiles and twirls our fingers together.

…

_Five days later_

I wake up and look around, it's still dark in the room, and I have no idea what woke me up. I look over at the alarm clock and groan, "Three AM… are you fucking serious?"  
I roll over onto my stomach and sharply jolt up when my face touches some spit that I must have drooled out again. I look over my shoulder and see Amata curled in a ball beside me curled into a ball.  
I wordlessly shuffle so I'm pressed against her back. I rest my head against the crook of her neck and put an arm around her stomach. She sharply jolts away from me and breaks out into a sob.  
"Amata?" I frown, my hand dropping down onto the bed sheets when she moves away. They're soaking wet; and it doesn't smell like urine either. Realising that Amata's water had finally decided to break at three in the morning; I say the most supportive, reassuring thing I can think of.

"Fucking _shit_!" I shout and jump out of bed like it was on fire. It's scary how powerful my one leg has become that I can spring off it and fly a clear 2 metres. I stand still for a few seconds and try to calm down. My brain is going a mile a minute, I can barely think. I look at my wife sobbing on the bed in fear, and that's all it takes for my mind to kick into gear. I instantly hop into a pair of shorts and pull on a shirt and my leg.  
"Hey," I say softly and bend down beside her on the bed so I can meet her eye level, "look at me."  
She looks up at me with red rimmed eyes.  
"Look at me," I say firmly but gently while cupping her cheek and staring straight into her deep brown eyes, "everything is fine, everything is okay. You don't need to be afraid, because I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you."

"It's going to hurt so bad…" she whispers and looks sheepishly up at me.

I grin at her, "You're going to be drugged out of your _mind _Amata, and you won't feel a thing. You love your little boy don't you? Just think, in less than a few hours, you're going to be holding him in your arms. In a few months or weeks, you can play with him. He's going to be smiling at you when he wakes up in the morning and sees you; he's going to be perfect."

I release the lock to our door and Dogmeat comes barrelling in. He instantly jumps up onto bed beside Amata and lies down beside her, his ears pointing straight back as he defends a distressed Amata.  
"Where are you going?" she gasps in pain as I pull on a jacket.  
"I'm going to get Dad," I say calmly. "I'll be back in a few minutes, okay? Dogmeat will be here until then."  
"I love you," she whispers before I peck her lips.  
"I love you too," I smile down at her. "Be happy, you're about to have a baby."

The second the door to the apartment closes I take off as fast as I possibly can.  
"Fucking leg!" I whisper angrily as it drags behind me. I'm used to being able to sprint around here, now I can run at half the speed my 11-year-old self could.  
I skid around the corner and slam into the door of Dad's apartment.  
"Ugh come on…" I groan when the door is locked. I ram my finger against the intercom, rattling off at least 20 beeps in 10 seconds.  
The door opens to a very alert and very naked Madison Li.  
"Oh for fuck's sake…" I groan and rest my head against the wall beside the door and close my eyes, "Amata's having the baby. Stop fucking around and come and help me."  
"James!" she shouts. I can hear her running back into the apartment.

…

I walk back into Amata's apartment and find her with her face twisted in pain.  
"How're you doing sweetheart?" I smile and sit down beside her.  
"A human is trying to escape the inside of my body, how do you think I'm going?"  
"Li and Dad are on their way," I reach my hand down and start to stroke her hair. "He doesn't know what he's doing, he's just a baby."  
"What happened to your 'it's a girl' analogy?" she grunts.  
"I still think that it's a girl. I'm just being nice to you."  
"Oh god," she whimpers, "I think I'm going to die."  
I swallow back a lump in my throat and fake a smile, "You aren't going to die, honey."  
"If I do, will you take care of him?"  
I chuckle and rub her shoulder, "You're going to be fine. Dad and Li know what they're doing. None of us will let anything happen to you."  
She rests her head in my lap and stays still until Dad and Li come running in, now fully dressed with Dad rolling in a wheelchair.

…

_Two weeks later_

I hear a small beeping and I crack open one eye. I roll onto my stomach and rub my eyes.  
"It irritates me how you can sleep through that baby monitor but you wake up to my alarm," I hear Amata mutter.  
I look up at her and see that she's feeding her baby boy, Charlie Daniels-Almodovar. The small baby greedily drinks from the bottle, though his deep brown eyes look up at Amata. When he was born they were a light blue, but as Li said that they might, they changed colour into Amata's deep brown.

These two weeks have been a living hell. I'm running on only roughly three hours sleep a night, and when I'm awake I'm walking around the living room, holding a crying Charlie close to me and patting his back to try and settle him down while Amata tries to sleep. The night he was born, and when I fell asleep, I dreamed of his father, and I relived the memory. When I woke up the next day, I refused to let me see him when I looked at Charlie. Charlie doesn't look anything like his father, he has his mother's eyes and his hair is dark brown or even black, we can't really tell yet.

Charlie is roughly the length of Amata's forearm, so he fits snugly against her as he has his breakfast. I kiss Amata good morning and get up, not bothering with my leg. Hopping around wakes me up a little bit as I make my way for the kitchen and drink my 150th cup of coffee in a week. It doesn't do much, and I can't find any Nuka Cola anywhere.

"Winter," Amata sighs and walks toward me when I collapse onto the couch, "take him for a second."  
She carefully puts Charlie on top of me so he lies stomach down on my chest. He's awake, but not crying quite yet.  
"Hey little guy," I smile and softly rub his back, tapping occasionally to burp him.  
Amata sits down beside me on the couch and puts my feet in her lap and sips on some coffee. She smiles tiredly at us and shakes her head, chuckling into her coffee mug.  
"What?" I frown.  
"Seventeen years ago, you and I were little kids running around the hallways here and getting up to no good. I can't believe the life I have with you now."  
I chuckle quietly to not disturb Charlie, "Is the life we have together good or bad?"  
"This morning alone, it seems pretty damn good, Daniels," she smiles and touches Charlie's cheek then mine.  
I smile tiredly and nod, "Now all we need to do is figure out how to keep this little guy quiet for more than fifteen minutes."  
"And make him not so hungry," she nods and kisses my cheek as she gets up. "I'm going to go talk to Dad about the new apartment. Are you fine to stay here with Char?"  
I nod back at her and my eyes follow her as she gets dressed.  
"Don't fall asleep near him," she reminds me for the millionth time as she walks out now properly dressed. "If you get too tired-"  
"Put him in his crib and go to bed, I know," I drone. "We'll be fine, Amata."  
She rolls her eyes and kisses my lips, "Be safe. I love you."  
"I love you too," I smirk up at her.  
She kisses Charlie's head and says "I love you" to him, before walking out of the apartment and closing the door behind me.


	6. Chapter 6

I rub my sore stomach as I walk down the hallways, leaving my wife and child behind momentarily, even though the thought alone makes me anxious. Don't get me wrong, I trust Winter with Charlie without a millisecond's hesitation, but he's still my baby boy. I love him more than anything else in the world, and I hate having to be separated from him. I'm terrified that he's going to get sick while I'm gone, or he gets hungry. Winter will take of him either way, but I need to have him in my arms again, soon.

But what I'm doing now is far more important. Charlie is two weeks old now, he's perfectly healthy, not a single medical problem to hold against him, at least for now anyway. Winter's use in my father's eyes seems to be dwindling rapidly by the hour, and before I know it she'll plunge into DC again, and I won't see her until this war ends. I can't have that; I need her in Charlie's life as much as I need her in mine.

Dad hasn't seen much of Charlie in person, he's too busy with his Overseer duties, either that or he doesn't really care. Winter's been up to see him a few times, him always returning with her for him to visit his grandson for a few minutes. Since I found out that Winter was born in DC, rather than inside the Vault, I had hypothesised that the reason why Dad never truly liked her was because she was a "savage". Dad always referred to anyone who could have _possibly_survived out there as savages; uneducated, ill-mannered, disease-ridden savages. While Winter turned out to be a representation of the "ill-mannered" side of being a "savage", she didn't represent the other two. My son's father, being the highest form of a savage, surely reflects against Charlie in my father's eyes.

James and Li come by every single day. Both of them coddle Charlie to the point where Charlie's face is smeared with Li's lipstick from a million kisses and he's listened to enough gibberish from Winter's father and seen enough funny faces for him to start crying. Both baby and Winter sit, annoyed and tired. Winter is easy enough to settle, just give her a kiss and she's fine. An infant baby on the other hand…

…

"What's the matter Amata?" Dad sighs as I walk into his office unannounced. Something about the Daniels family presence always seems to irritate my father to no end, even though James has barely made a sound outside of the clinic and the apartment and Winter's been on her best behaviour, by Winter's standards anyway.  
"Do you want to go see Char this afternoon?" I sit down at the chair beside his desk.  
"Who?"  
"Charlie."  
"Ah, Charles," he nods and looks away from his terminal.  
"Charlie," I correct again.  
"Well why did you call him Charlie if you don't want someone to call him Charles," he mutters. "Whose idea was Charlie anyway?"  
"Mine," I say defensively and cross my arms over the baby bump that is rapidly fading away. "Dad, I didn't come here to listen to you be an ass about my son."  
"Well seeing as we aren't talking about Charlie, I can only assume this has something to do about Winter."  
"I want her to be able to visit once a week every month."  
"No deal," He says instantly, leaning against the back of his chair.  
"She won't shoot up the place Dad! For fuck's sake she isn't a ticking time bomb. Just take her leg and crutches away from her and she's basically incapacitated!"  
"And what happens when her military friends start asking where she's going every time she gets to go on leave? What happens when they find out she can gladly go somewhere that's safe from all of whatever the hell is going on out there?"  
"She's my wife, father."  
"She's a security risk. She also doesn't have a responsibility to Charlie. You can handle him by yourself, and Winter can come and collect you when the war is over."  
I wince a little bit at the cold response from my own father, and simply glare at him, "That's cold."  
"I have to look out for the security of the Vault here, Amata. I'm not interested in keeping a threat here for the sake of family bonding. If you want to go when Winter says that it's safe or you want to follow her, then go. If not, just stay here. Either way, Winter Daniels' time in this Vault is rapidly running out."  
I glare at him, "Winter isn't going to just shrug this off."  
"She will shrug it off," Dad shrugs, "I've known Winter since she was an infant. She's _going_to trade being with you for keeping you safe. You and I both know that."  
"And you're the one who is doing this, not Winter," I stand up sharply, "and go see your grandson, he acts just like you. He throws a fit when he doesn't get his way."  
He rolls his eyes, "I'm so offended. Just have her out of here by the end of the day."  
"Fine," I mutter, "then I wouldn't recommend watching Winter and I for a few hours then. I have to say my goodbyes."

…

"Wake up, Winter."  
"Shit!" I gasp and jolt bolt upright on the bed, "Ugh… goddamn Amata why did you have to wake me up?"  
Amata smirks down at me from where she's sitting on the couch and pecks my lips, "Because I've never heard of you turning down sex for anything before."  
I burst out laughing and quickly bury my face against a pillow to mask the sound to not wake up the little dictator asleep in the other room.  
"I'm getting kicked out today, aren't I?" I sigh as she straddles my waist.  
"Yeah…" she says quietly and runs her thumb along my collar bone.  
I look up at Amata and blink a few times to adjust to the lighting, noticing her fake smile is doing a shitty job contradicting her sad eyes, and run my fingertips up and down her arms, "I'm going to come back for you." I smile up at her.  
"I don't doubt it," she nods slowly and leans down to kiss me properly. I can almost hear Alphonse groaning in annoyance in his office, as I'm sure as hell that he's kept constant surveillance on me since I got here.

"Don't you dare," I laugh when Amata's hands move down to take off her shirt, "Your father will _literally_ murder me."  
"Winter we haven't had sex in close to five months," she rolls her eyes and leans down to bite the shell of my ear, "and it might be another six more. I want you to have something to remember me by."  
"It's actually been six and a half months. Amata you don't have to do this," I stumble slightly as she pulls her shirt over her head. Oh god, please don't let Alphonse still be watching.  
"I want to," she murmurs before she kisses me again, "I love you, believe it or not."  
"I don't doubt it," I smile against her lips and pull her closer to me. She giggles and bites my bottom lip playfully.  
"You sure about this? I know you're still hurting a bit."  
"I'm fine," she grins down at me and unzips my jacket.  
I shrug out of it and sit up slightly.  
"We can't do this here," I nudge my head towards the open door the Charlie's room, "I don't want to scar him for life."  
She nods and hops off of me and yanks her shirt back on. I stand up properly and chuckle a little bit as I balance on one leg.  
"Come on," Amata chuckles and puts an arm around my shoulder to help support me.  
"You'd think there would be perks to having one leg," I mutter sarcastically and close the door behind us with my free hand.

…

I slowly open my eyes before I hear a small sigh. I feel warm fingers threading through my hair and I look up. My head is Amata's lap and she smiles sadly up at me.  
"You were asleep for a while," she says quietly and leans down to kiss my lips. "I was hoping you'd sleep until tomorrow morning."  
"Drug me with something and that can be arranged," I murmur and close my eyes again.  
She sighs and runs her fingers slowly along my hair, twirling the black strands around her fingers, "I'm going to miss you."  
"I'm not going to be gone forever," I assure her and reach my hand up and touch her cheek. "You and Charlie are safe, that's all I can ever ask for. I'll be fine."  
"I know, I know," she chuckles softly, "doesn't mean that I'm not going to worry, though."  
"There'd be something wrong if you didn't." I sit up properly and slide on a shirt. When I rest my back against the wall Amata shuffles so she lies against me, using the gap where my right leg used to be to get closer. I slip my arms around her stomach, running my fingertips along her c-sec scar and resting my chin against her shoulder.  
"What time is it?"  
"It's getting around 6," she whispers and starts to play with my wedding ring. "I really don't want you to go."  
"You'll be busy with Char," I smile. "You'll barely know I'm gone because you'll be busy with him."  
"At least I gave you something to remember me by," she giggles and turns around in my arms.  
"Amata..." I sigh and rest my forehead against hers, "I'm not going to leave you. The first thing I'll do when it's safe is come and get you and Charlie."  
We lie in silence for a few minutes, never leaving each other's grasp, before we hear crying in the other room.  
"I'll get him," we both say at the same time.  
"Let me," I lightly push her off of me and start to get dressed. "I want to say goodbye to him."

I walk into Charlie's bedroom, which looks pretty much like what my baby room used to look like. Little red bouncy balls, plush toys, a changing table, a crib, and another crap load of toys. Dogmeat looks annoyed as he wakes up from the other side of the room when I walk in. His self-appointed duty of protecting the miniature human crying in the crib is cute, but slightly annoying when he refuses to leave the room for three fucking minutes so we can avoid dumping the funny smelling dog food in the baby's room. He walks to my right as I hobble in, my leg very loosely fitted. Charlie is lying on his back, with a blanket tucked over him and his eyes scrunched tight as he cries.  
"Aw hey…" I chuckle softly as his tiny little fingers bunch into fists and wave around (slowly, considering he's just a baby). "Are you a little tough guy? Huh? You wanna fight me?"  
I slowly pick him up and rock him a little.  
He settles down a bit and I start to feed him a bottle, then he completely settles into a quiet little whimper, then not a sound.  
"See?" Amata laughs softly and walks in. "Don't act like I don't need you here."  
I look back at her and smile when she pecks my lips and slides my gun into my holster, my body shifting slightly when I remember how heavy it actually is.  
"I love you," I smile at her when I hand Charlie to her.  
"I love you, so much," she whispers and rests shoulder against my shoulder with her son still in her arms. "Be safe."  
"Always," I grin at her. I take off my dog tags and slip them over Charlie's head. They're incorrect, with my rank out dated and my company name incorrect. But I lie to Amata, again, and say I have a spare pair. It's not strictly speaking a lie, seeing as I do have a spare pair, but I don't need it anymore.  
"Do you have to bring Dogmeat with you?" she complains when I put Dogmeat's leash around his neck.  
"He's good at sniffing out the bad guys. Come and see us off," I smile.  
"You and I both know that I'll run after you if you do that," she says quietly, holding Charlie with one hand and brushing a strand of hair off my face with the other.  
"And you and I both know that I can handle myself just fine," I peck her lips a final time, before slipping on my bag.  
"Be good," I chuckle and lightly nudge Charlie's tricep and look up at Amata. "I want him in check before I come back, he tried to fight me earlier."  
She rolls her eyes, "Not funny, smartass."  
I grin at her and turn to leave, "I love you too."

I pad down the hallways of the Vault with my fake leg, finding the hallways empty, except for one person who's leaning against the wall of the classroom.

"Winter."  
"Hey Susie," I smile slightly.  
"Heading out?"  
"Um… yeah. I'll be back soon though."  
She nods, "I… just wanted to say that I'm sorry."  
"Sorry for what?"  
Susie sighs and crosses her arms, looks down at the floor, then up at me, "I don't think I've talked to you and Amata in more than two weeks. It wasn't fair on you and Amata. I know that you've had the baby, and I haven't even seen… what was his name? I am so sorry."  
"It's fine," I smile and lean against the wall beside her. "Charlie."  
"Short for Charles?"  
"I… no. Just Charlie," I shrug. "You should talk with Amata, and she'll let you see him, of course."  
"I just want to talk to you first. I have to say some things first."  
I frown at her strained voice, "You doing okay Susie?"  
"I miss you," she sighs, "I didn't realise how much you had changed… I guess a part of me just didn't want to see it."  
"What are you talking about?"  
"This," she reaches over and slowly slides out my gun and holds it in both hands, "When you were gone, I was so in love with you. I dreamed that you would come home, and we would be together again. When you lost your leg, Amata was taken into a room in the security office. Before I had found out what had happened to you, someone told me that you and Amata were back in the Vault, but they didn't tell me why. Officer Gomez took me to see Amata. I watched her in the interrogation room, she was screaming for you, she was going absolutely insane. This was a woman who murdered my father, to save your life. I looked at her, and I was _so_happy to see her suffering. I thought she came back because you didn't want anything to do with her, that you had come back for me. I wanted to be in Amata's position, I wanted to be out there with you," she softly reaches over and grasps my hand. "I need you to know that I am so sorry."  
"… What are you sorry about?" I scratch my head in confusion.  
She laughs and shakes her head, "Everything I guess. I had everything prepared for when you'd walk by, but the second I saw you I forgot everything I was going to say. It's still weird… seeing you without that leg."  
I sigh and look down, "Yeah, it was my favourite one too."  
"Morbid. Anyway, I'm sorry for how I've been treating Amata, for making her cry before Charlie was born; and I'm sorry that you two have to be apart, again."  
I sigh, "I'd never see her again if it meant that she is safe. I could last 15 years without her, I just rest easy that she's in here. Bored, but safe."  
"I'll help look after her," she smiles, "and Charlie."  
I nod and hug her, "You don't have to be sorry for anything. You're less of an idiot than I am, Amata's bound to forgive anything that you say or do."  
She sighs, "Promise me you'll be careful out there."  
"Yes, Amata," I tease, "I promise. You have to promise me something though."  
"Anything."  
"If I don't come back… don't let Amata go after me. There's a reason I didn't come back."  
"I can promise that."  
"I've gotta go," I hug her a final time. "Bye Susie."  
"Bye," she smiles and kisses my cheek.

I walk to Dad's apartment and ring the buzzer. Li opens the door, dressed this time, and smiles at me, "Oh, hi Winter."  
"Hey, um… listen Alphonse wants us gone by the end of the day so…" I look over Li's shoulder, "is Dad ready to go?"  
She frowns, "You don't know?"  
"Pardon?"  
"James is working at the clinic. He's staying. He carved out a deal with Alphonse while you two were… saying goodbye to each other. James is going to stay here and help to look after Charlie, so long as he behaves himself."  
"What about you?" I frown and cross my arms.  
"I'm needed with the war," she sighs. "I had to actually make James stay. He doesn't have much of a use out there compared to looking after his grandson."  
I wince a little bit, "I'm not really a parent in this situation…"  
"Whatever you say, Winter," she chuckles. "I'm ready to go, by the way. Just give me a few minutes to say goodbye to James. Not as long as drawn out as you and Amata's definition of 'goodbye' though."  
"Oh don't act like you and Dad haven't screwed at least twice a day."  
"Watch your tone," she frowns.  
"Watch yours," I grin jokingly and hold up my hand and point to my ring. "I married her. It's fine."  
"Let's just go."

…

Li and I walk into the entrance of the Vault, which has Officer Gomez standing by the control panel.  
"You two ready to go?" Gomez smiles cheerfully.  
"Oh, hey," I smile, "Good to see they sent someone friendly this time."  
He smiles and holds out his hand, "Be careful out there."  
I shake his hand and nod, "I'll see you soon."  
Gomez looks over my shoulder and nods. I turn around just in time to see Amata crash into me and hug me tightly.  
"Woah, hey…" I chuckle and hug her, "I thought you said you wouldn't come."  
"Fuck off," she murmurs against my shoulder.  
"Where's Charlie?"  
"I've got him," Dad smiles, walking into the room carrying the baby. He hugs Li goodbye and Li gives Charlie a final kiss goodbye. I kiss Amata goodbye and she breaks away abruptly.  
"Goodbye!" she grins at Dogmeat and gives him a pat and ruffles his fur. The dog runs circles around her and laps at her face.  
"I'd better get back to the clinic," Dad sighs. "The noise of the door won't be good for Charlie's ears."  
Gomez pulls a few levers and the door hisses and starts to open.  
Amata gives me a final hug as the door opens, resting her head against shoulder as she watches the door slide to the side.  
"Don't worry," I smile and peck her lips a final time. She reluctantly lets go of me and crosses her arms as I lead Li and Dogmeat past the door.  
Gomez waits until Li, Dogmeat and I are well away from the door, before he shuts it. I turn back and smile assuringly at Amata, before it closes completely.  
I sigh and look down at the floor at Dogmeat, "Good boy."  
"C'mon," I smile at Li, "If we start walking now we'll get to the Citadel before sundown."

Li and I open the wooden door and step out to the wasteland.  
"Doesn't look any worse for wear…" I sigh and start walking down the hill and past the Springvale base. Thankfully, we hadn't lost the base to the Enclave since we were gone. It's still busy, with convoys of soldiers and supplies being pushed around. However, it looks more… rushed, than usual. A line of corpses line along the side of the building, some ours, some of them the Enclave's.  
"Hey!" someone shouts behind us. I turn around and see Washington walk towards me, his auburn hair cut down into a buzz cut and walking with still a slight limp.  
"Hey!" I grin at him and hug him, "How's your ass Washington?"  
He rolls his eyes and suddenly grins, "I heard that some dipshit got into the Lyons' Pride and got a baby on the side! Congrats, kid!"  
"Thanks," I nod. "What's happened since I was gone?"  
"No fucking idea," he mutters. "Something's got them all stirred up. They're been in more intense with their road ambushes. You heading up to the Citadel?"  
"Uh huh. Why?"  
"Keep your eyes open for any trouble, you hear?"  
"What?"  
"Enclave's got their eyes on the BoS' prize. I'm glad your family's okay."  
I nod and Li nudges my hand like a child getting her mother's attention.  
"What's up?" I frown.  
"Verti-birds," she says loudly and points sharply up at the two birds approaching the base.

"They ours?" I frown and squint to try and make out the insignia on the head of the bird. Before Washington can respond, a bright orange bolt shoots out of the helicopter and crashes into the ground by the road.  
"Shit!" I shout and push Li away from the path of the next rocket.  
"You have your answer, Daniels?!" Washington shouts as faint, shadowed outlines of soldiers repel from the birds.  
"Shut the fuck up Washington!" I shout as BoS soldiers immediately charge for their defensive positions.  
"Ow! Hey!" I shout as someone crashes into me and sends me crashing onto the dirt.  
"Winter!" Li shouts and hoists my up by my arm.  
"I'm fine," I mutter and wipe some blood from my chin. "Run for Megaton! Don't stop no matter what happens." I toss her the key to my house, "Go inside and get Amata's gun, then hide until I come home, alright?"  
"Winter I promised James I would-!"  
"Go!" I shout as gunfire starts to rip through the air.  
Li spins around and sprints for the gate to Megaton, but as she turns around the corner, everything goes black.

"They cut down the outer generators!" someone shouts as we're plunged into darkness. The birds turn on big, gaping search lights and start to sweep along the ground, searching for us, and Enclave soldiers turn on the flashlights they have on their weapons. For some reason, everything goes quiet. Only the hum of the birds and the scuttling of heavily armoured feet can be heard. Every second we're in the dark is a second that the Enclave will flank us, and I'm not wearing fancy power armour. They'll see me long before I can get an idea of where they are, and unless I'm lucky… I'm going to get shot. I see the birds swirling their lights around, and I can tell that they're going to start to flank us soon unless someone does something.  
"Dogmeat!" I whisper as he runs off, "Dogmeat come back!"  
I keep my head down and pull out my revolver, flicking open the chamber and seeing that Amata had it loaded, something that I forgot to check and do myself. I could have walked out of there with an empty gun for all I knew.  
"I fuckin' love you hon," I sigh and spin the barrel, hear it click and snap it into position. I poke my head out and fire one shot that destroys the silence. It smacks into one of the spotlights and the glass and light disappear into nothingness. Another shot that wasn't mine smacks into the other, and everything goes completely black. Before anyone can do anything, a loud, piercing scream comes from the Enclave area.  
"Someone kill this fucking dog!" a woman howls. Suddenly, the flashlights aiming for us turn toward the noise, and we're ignored for a few seconds.  
"Run Dogmeat," I whisper, "Dogmeat, run."  
I hear loud, rapid gunfire, and a ball of fear and panic hits my throat.  
"Where the fuck did he go?" an Enclave soldier shouts.  
"Did anyone get him?!" the injured woman gasps.  
"I don't think so…"  
I turn around and look at Washington, who's holding the clunkiest looking gun I've ever seen in my life.  
"What the fuck is that?!" I whisper as he loads it.  
He points the gun into the air and fires. A bright red flame spirals into the air and lights up the entire base; meaning we can see clearly. The BoS instantly move, jumping out of cover and opening fire on Enclave who were looking up at the sky, their flashlights resembling bullseye targets. I stay calm and poke my head out from over cover. For the moment I'm not in any _immediate_danger from the ground soldiers, except of course from the birds and their rockets. See, Washington's gun did as much harm as it did good when he fired it. Casualties from both sides start to mount up, but soon people from the inside of the base get their shit together. The lights turn on using the basement generators and snipers climb to their vantage points. Sniper fire hails down onto Enclave soldiers, shattering helmets and chest plates. Well-aimed barrages from our own rockets quickly dispatch the birds, which crash onto the earth in a blaze of fire and smoke.

I poke my head out of cover again and see only around two Enclave soldiers remain, with around 24 of us still fighting.  
"Dogmeat!" I shout when I can't see him. "Dogmeat! Where are you?!"  
I vault over the cover and stumble through the battlefield, firing at the Enclave who have pointed their guns at me. They get cut down quickly, and I look around.  
"Oh come on, come on, come on," I whisper urgently when I see him limping towards me. I run toward him and he whimpers in pain when I get closer to him, only to find his leg is badly bleeding.  
"Hey," I say softly and hoist him up, to get some weight off his leg. Washington jogs up to us and sighs, "Fucking lucky bastard…"  
"I think he's been shot," I say urgently, "Washington we can't let them kill him. He's a dog! The medics won't get to him!"  
Washington frowns and gently touches Dogmeat's leg, "Hmph. You might be right about the gunshot. I'd take him to Doc Church."  
"I can't. I should be in the Citadel," I gasp.  
"They won't be expecting you," he says assuringly, "the birds out here will have stopped at least for a few hours, the next bird to the Citadel will come at around… maybe at midnight. More than enough time."  
I nod and Washington ruffles his fur, "That's a dumbass dog you've got there."  
"I've gotta go," I sigh and start to move for Megaton.

…

"Church!" I shout, banging on the door with my good foot. "Church open the door!"  
The door swiftly opens and he grunts, "What the hell is going on out there?!"  
"Enclave tried to take Springvale." I say urgently, "Dogmeat's hurt. Please, Church, you've gotta help him."  
"Get him inside," he sighs. "You know, they turned me down to be a medic in this bullshit war, they decline because of my age, now I'm fixing up dogs."  
"What? Bullshit," I sigh as I walk Dogmeat inside and lie him down on a patient bed, "you fixed my goddamn leg. You'd think because you're older you'd have more experience."  
He sighs, "I'm happy where I am, it's good for Megaton to still have a doctor even after all this shit. Let's have a good look at this guy first."  
"What are you doing?" I ask fearfully when he produces a needle.  
"Morphine," he says patronisingly. "I'm not an asshole, Winter. I'm not going to kill him."  
He injects Dogmeat with the needle and I give him a pet, "If he's giving you anything close to the stuff I usually get, you'll be feeling pretty good right now."  
"I'm not giving the same amount of morphine to a dog that I give to a 22 year old," Church grunts, "looks like a nice clean shot in the left thigh. No need to amputate, bullet has not passed through, and has broken the bone. Looks like he'll need a bandage and he'll have to keep weight off of his leg."  
"How the hell are we going to do that?" I sigh. "He's a dog."  
"How old is Dogmeat?"  
"I have no idea. Best guess is around 3 or 4. Why?"  
"Dogs can adapt better to their injuries the younger they are. He'll cock his knee up so that he moves on three legs and doesn't put weight on the other. He'll be fine. Have the bandage reapplied every day and see a doctor if the injury gets an infection."  
Dogmeat looks miserably up at me, but I pet him assuringly as Church washes his hands.  
"You're gonna be okay pal," I smile and scratch behind his ears.  
"He won't feel much," he shrugs. "We'll be fine here. Go home and give yourself a wash, you've got blood on your hands and arms."  
I sigh and kiss the top of his head, "Be good for Church, okay?"

…

I slowly open the door to my house and walk inside, "Li? You okay? It's me."  
Li walks down the stairs with a shotgun, "I heard the shots from here. It would be a gigantic issue if I have to explain to your father you died literally forty minutes after you walked out of the vault."  
I roll my eyes and take the gun from her and open the chamber, "Did someone come in here?"  
"No. Why?"  
I sigh and show her the gun, "It's empty, Li."  
She sighs irritably and I walk back to my room and place the gun on the desk, "The verti-bird leaves for the Citadel at midnight."  
"Where's the dog?"  
"He got shot in the leg. Church is looking after him and getting the bullet out."  
"Are you going to bring him with us?"  
"Yeah, of course. We'll get there at around 12:30, I'll carry him somewhere to sleep and let that be it."  
"Well, it's 7:30 now, so I'm going to sleep really quick until then," Li sighs.  
"I'm going to have a quick bath and get myself cleaned up, then I'll go to the clinic. I'll come over and wake you up."  
"Sounds like a plan," she sighs.

…

I yawn and look at my Pip-boy. I'm sitting on a chair in Church's clinic beside Dogmeat, who's lying on the patient bed, with a shaved leg with a bandage wrapped around it. He whimpers a little when I pet him and looks up at me with puppy dog eyes.  
"Church," I look up at him as he works on tidying up his office, "it's 11:45, is Dogmeat okay to go?"  
"You'll have to carry him," he sighs and walks over to me and hands me a thick roll of bandages and a handful of those clip things to keep them held together. Again, daughter of a doctor, wife of a kind-of-sort-of doctor's assistant, and I have no idea what most of these medical supplies are called.  
"Thanks," I smile and put them in my back, before slowly picking up Dogmeat. "Come on buddy."  
"Any more problems you talk to a doctor, alright?"  
"Thank you, Church. I'd shake your hand but my hands are full here."  
He chuckles and nods, "Go, take care of your dog, and please… just be safe."

I wake up Li and we walk back to Springvale's base silently. Li looks over at Dogmeat and asks about how he's been.  
"He'll be fine. He's high at the moment, so I don't know what to expect from him."  
"He was lucky, Winter. You need to find something to protect him with."  
"I don't have shit to protect him with, Li." I sigh. "I'll see what I can do."

We walk down to the base, and several BoS soldiers run towards Dogmeat. I hold the barely conscious dog a little tighter as they charge towards us, but they come baring gifts instead of bullets.  
"There's our buddy!" a young looking private grins and pets him. "He's alive!"  
"What are you doing?" I frown as Li is bombarded with small string sacks, "Leave him alone."  
"He's a doggy hero!" he laughs. "Man, we would have been toast if that mutt hadn't of bitten that officer's arm!"  
"He bit an officer?"  
"Oh yeah, big chomp too. We found her with half of her forearm ripped off. Tough pooch."  
"What are in here?" Li frowns as she opens the bags.  
"Mole rat treats. Some iguana bits, some Brahmin mince. All of it too small for us," he shrugs. "Hell, we probably wouldn't be eating it if it wasn't for this guy. He takes after his owner in bravery, eh? He gonna make it?"  
"Yeah, he'll be fine," I nod. "We're actually here to look for a bird to get us to the Citadel."  
"Should be coming in around ten minutes," a Knight sighs. "Here. I'll hold him and get him into the bird, you look a little strained."

The bird eventually arrives, dropping off and loading some supplies and soldiers onto it in a matter of minutes. Li, myself and Dogmeat (a scientist, a Lyons' Pride member, and the dog of said Lyons' Pride member), get a free pass for boarding. Dogmeat lies in my lap, but I take off my leg to help him lie down properly.  
"Shit…" the pilot sighs as we take off, "Goddamn Enclave… good job you guys if you did help fight them off. Fuckers got what they deserved."  
I sigh and lean against the wall of the bird, "Goddamn… six hours ago…"  
"Shut up, Winter," Li mutters and rubs her eyes with her thumb and index finger. "Just- turn on the radio. Please."  
I look at my Pip-boy and flick onto the radio section. I flick onto Galaxy News Radio, but my thumb slips and hits Enclave News instead.  
_"Please… my fellow Americans… help us fight the evil that is the Brotherhood-"__  
_"Shit, sorry…" I sigh and flick it back to Galaxy News.  
"No, put it back on," she frowns.  
_"- ook some of our best soldiers to free our captured brothers and sisters from the slavery and mistreatment they have undergone at the hands of the Brotherhood. Malnourished, dehydrated soldiers are being worked to death to help with the war effort. Constructing ammunition and bomb shells, and building weaponry are day to day life for Enclave prisoners of war. Wake up, people of America, the Brotherhood does not want to help you, they want to USE you. If you disagree with them, they will send you to be worked to death for their own personal gain. I ask you, please, join the heroic side. Join the Enclave, help to re-establish the civilization we all know and miss dearly, and help to exterminate what evil is standing in our way to a free America. Recruits wishing to sign up for the Enclave must report to stations in either neutral or Enclave occupied areas of the Wasteland, such as Rivet City, the Jefferson Memorial building, and Megaton. Recruits who sign up before Christmas Day will receive a half of a Brahmin to feed your family for Christmas lunch or a nice sum of 500 caps to buy whatever you need to feed a hungry American family. Stay tuned for more information as it is given to us. Thank you; and god bless America."__  
_"Hey, turn that shit off," the pilot says bitterly over his shoulder, "I can't concentrate listening to that shit."  
"Half a Brahmin or 500 caps?" the co-pilot sighs bitterly. "How the fuck are we going to keep up with that?"  
Dogmeat looks up at me and licks my hand, and I feed him one of the pieces of Brahmin someone gave us. He nibbles at it and I look over at the pilots and shrug, "I dunno… I'm sure we'll find some way to be able to convince people to fight and die a war we know nothing about why we're fighting it."


	7. Chapter 7

"Damn!" I gasp; my eyes jolting awake as I slam onto the metal floor. Li bursts out laughing and I rub my sore head, looking around at the stationary vertibird. "What the fuck was that?!"  
"We landed," Li giggles. "You fell because it jolts when we land."  
"How come it's always funny when I get hurt?" I sigh and pick myself up and roll my eyes at Li. "No, don't help the amputee get up or anything."  
I strap on my leg and pick up Dogmeat, who's still looking a little bit out of it.  
"Good boy…" I whisper and hold him protectively as I hop down off the bird. As I hit the ground, my right leg jabs into my hip bone and my left leg lock tight, a habit I've picked up when it comes to dropping down onto the ground. If I bend my leg, it's more pressure on my right hip, and more pain over time, however, my left leg also can't bend, which shocks my ankle and my joints more than they should. I hiss in pain and scrunch my eyes tight, but I quickly shake it off and limp towards the barracks while Li moves to the science lab.

It's midnight, so people who aren't on watch duty are normally either asleep or playing cards on the table. Today, everyone's awake and lively. Rifles are being cleaned and taken apart to be rebuilt once more with nervous, jittery fingers. Rifle stocks are being thoroughly polished and bullets are being crammed into rifles, pistols and shotguns.  
"What the hell's going on?" I frown at a passing Knight.  
"Oh, Paladin Daniels," he says quickly and salutes me. I can't really salute him, so I nudge my forehead with my shoulder.  
"Paladin? I-"  
"We're moving out to help fortify bases around the Wasteland, ma'am," he nods, "Half of us are moving out, half of us are staying behind. Have your radio handy."  
"I-"  
"I've been told to track you down, ma'am," he says sharply, "Do you know where the Lyons' Den is?"  
"No…?"  
"Right this way."  
I'm guided around the twisting, turning hallways of the Citadel, brushing past hurried soldiers and clutching Dogmeat close to me, who's making a small growling noise. He turns around suddenly and I follow him and arrive at a door with "Lyons' Den" stenciled to a wooden sign beside a metal door.  
"Enjoy your rest, Paladin," he says sharply and opens the door for me, before running back to the barracks.  
When I walk in I find the Lyons' Pride sitting around a table having a very late dinner. The air isn't nearly as tense as the barracks, in fact, everyone is smiling a little bit.  
"Ah, Paladin Daniels," Lyons smiles and stands up from her dinner and salutes me. "Welcome back!"  
"Um… yeah… I'm sorry Lyons I can't-"  
"Oh! This is the man of the hour!" she smiles and ruffles his fur. Dogmeat growls but that's pretty much all he can do at this point, whatever Church put him under has left him nothing short of paralysed.  
"Dogmeat?"  
"Well, you as well."  
"What the hell did I do?"  
"Nothing, you're a member of the Pride who shot a light," Dusk shrugs. "How long did it take you to shoot that thing? I'm surprised the battle wasn't over by then. But the BoS always goes crazy when a member of the Pride shows up."  
"We got reports that you handled yourself well, if you're looking for the ego trip," Lyons smirks, "but… we got some reports that some maniac dog charged at an Enclave offence force! And lived! Ha! Don't see that every day! What's wrong with him?"  
"He got shot," I sigh. "He'll be fine though, he's gonna have a limp in his leg for a few weeks."  
Lyons nods and takes a bite of some Brahmin meat, "We've got some blankets prepared for him. Did you sic him on them?"  
"No… he just charged at them."  
Kodiak takes Dogmeat from me and carefully lies him down on the blankets. He reluctantly closes his eyes, and I look over at Lyons, "Thank you."  
"For what?"  
"Thank you for not kicking me out of the Pride."  
"Why do you think I did that?" she frowns and crosses her arms.  
"… I don't know."  
"We don't just pick up every BoS soldier for a chance to join the Pride. We pick those who keep a level head during battle and know their way around a gun, like you did at the base today. I know you have the potential to be a good soldier, Daniels. You've got it in you , but you act stupid, you let your emotions get ahead of you."  
I nod and look down, "I'm sorry."  
"You're lucky we didn't need you. Granted, it was an urgent situation, but you needed to think ahead first. Sometimes that's the difference between life and death."  
I nod.  
"I understand your wife had a baby?"  
"How did you know that?"  
"Because I know everything. You want to leave your wife a widow?"  
"No ma'am," I shake my head.  
"Then get your shit together and listen to us. Understand?"  
"Yes ma'am," I nod.  
"Open your hand," she orders. I do as she asks and she smacks a round circular token onto it. It's the BoS logo, a winged sword. However, instead of three cogs around the blade of the sword, a lion rampant replaces it.  
"What's this?" I frown.  
"Lyons' Pride badge. Flash it at a base and you'll be granted easy access to anything you could possibly need. Ammo, weapons, meds, food, nothing is out of your reach," Kodiak says proudly and with a smirk on his face.  
"Because of your stellar performance on defending the Springvale military base you have hereby been promoted to the rank of Paladin. This of course comes with a pay raise and additional perks and you know the drill," Lyons sighs.  
"I won't let you down again, Lyons," I smile and salute her.  
"Get some rest," she sighs and claps my shoulder with her gloved hand. "You did good today."

…

"Alright. Forget what Lyons said to you last night," Dusk grunts and sits down beside me. "She was being nice. You're a shit shot."  
Dusk and I are sitting on a building overlooking the bridge into the Jefferson Memorial, the memorial itself around 600m away. The building had been quickly and quietly cleared out by the two of us just this morning. It was mostly empty, save for a few ghouls. My sniper rifle is fixed onto a mount, which is sitting on the ledge of the window with a few clips of ammo sitting beside it.  
"I beg to diff-"  
"Just because you can hit a target after aiming for 15 seconds doesn't make you a good shot. You were an MP before you joined the Pride, MP's sit on ledges just like these and take forever to clear out an area. Lyons' Pride shooters know their shit."  
"What do you want me to do?" I frown as I load my rifle.  
"I'm going to give you a target to hit. Within five seconds of me pointing to the target, I want it shot. Because it's a windy today you'll have to make up for a crooked sight. Understand?"  
"Copy that."  
"If you don't make the shot, you'll regret it… Alright. Water bottle on the bench before the guy on watch. See it?"  
I nod and quickly look down the scope. I line up my shot, and miss. The bullet sails wide, not alerting the guard at all as he stands around pointlessly. I hear a small "pop" noise, and a large sting hits my arm. I look down and see a yellow stain on my arm.  
"Ow!" I whisper. "What the fuck is that?"  
"Paintball gun. Every time you miss a shot you're getting shot. Got that?"  
I sigh and nod, "Shoot again?"  
"Go for it."  
I take a deep breath and look down the scope again.  
"Ugh!" I hiss and rub my bicep as she shoots me again. "What the hell?"  
"You took too long," she shrugs.  
"Bullshit! I was counting, that wasn't even four."  
"Didn't your father ever tell you not to argue with someone with a gun on you?" she grins childishly. "Man, this is fun."  
I groan in frustration and look down again. I fire and my bullet smashes into the water bottle and spills onto the ground.  
"Ha HA!" Dusk grins, "Look at that bastard freak his shit!"  
The guy standing in front of the bottle has his gun waving around and is looking in all directions. He can't see us like that, I've worn an Enclave helmet before, and they massively restrict your long range vision. Still, I crouch down so only my eyes and the top of my head peer over the ledge.  
"Good girl," Dusk smirks and looks over the situation using her binoculars. "I'll make a heart-breaker out of you yet, though. Shoot at his feet, make him jump a little."  
I peer down and fire a few shots at his feet.  
"Alright. That's enough. Lean against the wall so they can't see you."  
I do as she says and she brings out a map of the Memorial and lays it down on the floor in front of us.  
"Alright. Listen, you're aiming for officers. Right now they'll be ordering soldiers around to repel the massive BoS invasion that they think is about to happen. They'll set up right about here," she taps the courtyard. "You know where that is?"  
"Yeah… yeah I know," I nod. "Go?"  
"Absolutely."  
I move to get back to my position, but she grabs my arm, "Wait."  
"What?"  
She pulls off my blue BoS cap with the old logo on it and hands it to me, "You hold it so it just peers over the ledge. If someone has spotted you, you're gonna get a nice little hole in your hat, but not in your head."  
I poke my hat out of the cover and wait, nothing happens. I quickly slip it back on and aim down the rifle again.

I look down at the courtyard and see several Enclave soldiers being pushed around into line by some officers.  
"Stop fucking shooting me!" I whisper angrily as she shoots me again. "I need to concentrate."  
"Oh I love this little toy," she grins. "Come on skinny, shoot the targets." I look down my scope and fire. The bullet shreds its way into one of the officers and I instantly shoot the others.  
"How was that?" I grin at her.  
"I've seen better," she shrugs and looks into her binoculars. "Still a little slower than I would have liked."  
I sigh and shake my head, "Now what?"  
"We need to get out of here. They'll probably send out a search team to come looking for us, the more distance we can put between us and them, the better."  
I shrug and scoop the spare clips of ammo into my bag, "You're the boss."  
Dusk rolls her eyes and grabs her radio, "Dusk to base. We need an extraction at-"  
I move with Dusk down the building and quickly move down the stairs.  
"Negative on your evac request Unit 1," Kodiak's voice crackles through the radio as I open the door to leave the building and jog with her along the deserted streets. "LZ's too hot at the moment. Enclave will be on high alert in the area. Report to Galaxy News for extraction in a few hours' time."  
"Copy," Dusk sighs and stuffs the radio into her bag. "God fucking dammit. C'mon kid, let's get a move on."

Running through DC's streets is always unsettling. The Enclave cleared some of it out to make way for supply routes, but it's still as dangerous as it was before. The open roads are empty, the only noise coming from the ratting of our bags and our footsteps.  
"Come on!" Dusk whispers angrily as I fall a little behind. My right hip starts to itch a little bit from how it's rubbing against the prosthesis.  
"I'm carrying most of the ammo and the guns!" I whisper back. "And this leg isn't doing me any favours."  
"Move your ass, Daniels," she snaps. "Having an excuse for moving slow won't do much to stop a bullet."  
I grunt and grit my teeth and manage to keep up with her, although my right foot occasionally slips on a stray piece of rubble. I hear a loud crack and Dusk immediately drops to the ground.  
"Get down!" she whispers and looks back at me in frustration.  
"I can't do it that easily." I snap , lying on my side. We wait for a few seconds, before I look up and hear another crack. I see a small section of the bricks in the old apartment erupt in a small speck of dust a few feet above my head that a bullet always brings.  
"Shit!" I shout. "Move, Dusk!"  
Dusk scrambles to her feet and I struggle to my feet.  
"Oh for god's sake!" she groans and hoists me up.  
I hear another crack and I start running.  
"Head for an alleyway!" Dusk shouts, "Give me your gun."  
"What? Why?"  
"Because I said!" she rips the gun off of my back and turns around. "Run!"  
"No fucking way!" I growl and tug at her arm. "Move your fucking ass!"  
I hear another shot and I instantly push Dusk onto the ground. The bullet skids onto the building beside us and misses us both, barely.  
"C'mon!" I shout, pushing her ahead of me. "GNR is only a few-"  
"We aren't going to Galaxy News," she growls and turns another corner so we're out of the sniper's sight, "Not now, it's too dangerous. We can't afford to put the base in jeopardy."  
"But they'll be expecting us to go there anyway!" I roll over a car and run after her as fast as I can.  
"Not if we lead them away from the area," she grunts and turns across to another alleyway.

We keep running for a few more minutes, twisting and winding through downtown DC's streets, then we hear the vertibirds approaching.  
"Come on! Move it, Daniels!" Dusk growls when I start to lag behind. My hip is aching horribly and I'm pretty pure I'm bleeding. Every step I take sends a sharp jolt of pain through me, but I have to ignore it.  
"Come on, come on," I grunt and scrunch my eyes tight. I pick up the pace and catch up to her. She turns another corner, but when I turn it, she's gone.  
"Oh I don't have time for your shit," I grunt as a mutant turns into the alleyway wielding a nailboard. I rip out my revolver and shoot him square in the face from 15 feet.  
"Dusk?" I turn around and look.  
"Up here," she calls from above me. "You have to jump it!"  
"What?! I can't jump with this-"  
"You're in Lyons' Pride, goddammit!" she reaches down and holds out her hand. "Act like it!"  
I take a few steps back and do a run up, before leaping into the air. My fingertips brush against hers, but I miss.

A searing hot pain rips up my hip and I collapse onto the ground, gritting my teeth in pain. Before I can let the pain completely disable me, I pick myself up. I hobble up and jump again. Dusk grabs my hand and hoists me up.  
"Come on kid," Dusk grunts as she hoists me up, "only five more minutes."  
I clamber up the staircase against the building. It squeaks and moans as we clamber up it, myself mostly hopping on one leg at this point.  
"Come on kid," Dusk barks as she's a few levels above me. "Move your worthless ass. I ain't gonna drag you!"  
Tears start to form in my eyes, but I refuse to let myself cry in pain. I reach the top of the staircase and Dusk runs to the edge of the building and jumps. She soars a clean three metres, before she lands smoothly on the opposite building a few metres below.  
"Throw your bag over!" she shouts as the vertibird spots us. I toss it over and walk back to the edge of the building.  
"Oooh… shit…" I groan. The ground is so far down, if I fall it'll almost certainly kill me.  
"Come on you little bastard," Dusk snarls. "A five year old could make this jump. Get a run up, then jump."  
I walk back to the opposite end of the building. I take a few deep breaths, and then start to run forward. I leap into the air and sail past Dusk. I land on my side and immediately roll. I cough a bit, but Dusk immediately pulls me to my feet, "Come on, we're close."  
I hobble along and the vertibird begins to follow us. Dusk drops down and lands on a balcony, and I fall down beside her. She instantly opens a boarded up window from the middle and drags me inside, slams the window shut, plunging the both of us into darkness.

The air's warm and musky with particles of dust almost obstructing my vision. I close my eyes, listening to the vertibird's whirring and straining above us. I vaguely hear the sounds of a couple of people arguing above us on the ceiling, and I stay deathly silent. Soon, the sound of the bird starts to fade away, eventually into nothingness. Dusk turns on a flashlight and shines it at me, "How bad's your leg?"  
I scrunch my eyes tight and whimper as she puts a hand on my hip, "Don't. Its fine, Dusk. Just… give me a minute to rest…"  
"Rest is for the weak. If you say its fine, than we keep moving."  
I groan and pick myself up, "Where are we going?"  
Dusk tosses my bag at me and I put it on my left shoulder to try and shift the weight away from my right hip.  
"You said that we would be done after that jump…" I pant as I follow her out of the room. We're in an apartment building, and we climb down the building through sections of rubble filled hallways. Sweat pours down my face and it burns a probably bright red as we move down level after level.  
"You going to live, kid?" Dusk asks as I lean against the walls for support.  
"Yeah, yeah I'll be fine." I pant.  
"A few more stories. Then we'll be done, I promise."  
I cling to the hope that she isn't lying, and I just focus on following her. We finally reach the basement area of the complex. Dusk does a weird knocking pattern on it, before it opens after a few seconds.  
"Hey Dusk," the woman who answers the door smiles.  
"Susie?" I frown, wiping some sweat off my forehead.  
"What? No." She frowns, "Who're you? You feeling alright, kid?"  
"N… no… not really…"  
"Stay awake, Daniels. Until we can get you somewhere to sleep that is," she smirks. "Reilly, think you can hook our friend here up with a bed?"  
"Sure," she nods. "C'mon, kid. You look like shit."

I stumble with her into a large room with heaps of beds, though it smells like… rust?  
"Come on kid…" Dusk grunts and helps me lie down onto the bed, then she starts to unbuckle my holster and unbutton my jeans.  
"What the hell?!" I groan and smack her hands away from me,."What the hell are you-!?"  
"I'm taking off your leg, calm the fuck down," she grunts, pushing it down to past my thighs.  
"Wow this thing is a hunk of junk," she tuts and shakes her head. "I see why you were so slow now."  
"Should I find somewhere else to be?" the red-head sighs.  
"… Actually… get your medic. We've got a few cuts and we need some disinfectant for it. Nothing serious, we just want to prevent an infection here."  
She unstraps the belts around my waist to help support my leg and carefully removes it from my hip.  
"Damn. You've got nothing left of that thing have you?" she smirks.  
"Not fucking funny Dusk," I say through grit teeth and sit up. My right hip is fucked. It's scratched to all hell, some of it bleeding and I can already see some bruises forming.  
"Who designed this piece of shit?" she frowns and holds up the leg. The top part that was shaped to fit my hip has frayed slightly, with some parts being jagged and with some blood on them.  
"Must have happened during the Springvale attack," I grunt as a medic walks in.  
"Who're you?" I frown. "You aren't BoS."  
"Nuh uh, little miss, we sure ain't," he chuckles and looks at my hip. "Just a quick patch-up should do you just fine. I've seen the fresh version of this and trust me; you don't know how happy I am that I only have to deal with minor cuts here."  
He starts to disinfect my wounds and I lie back on the bed. It's a bunk bed, funnily enough, so I don't have much to look at. Dusk disappears somewhere to go take a look at something, so I'm just left with the talkative medic who sounds like he's from some western movie.  
"Stop your squirmin'," he grunts as he wipes a cut.  
"I didn't move," I object. "Watch your hands, dude. You're inches from entering bad touch territory."  
He chuckles, "I see the ring on your finger little miss, wouldn't want your man comin' over here and shootin' me."  
"Uh huh," I don't bother correcting him, "Who are you?"  
"Butcher."  
"No shit."  
"It's a nickname."  
"That doesn't make me feel any better, you know."  
"Uh huh," he murmurs and concentrates on my leg. "Damn, little miss, how long've you been riding this thing for?"  
"I dunno… getting around two years maybe?"  
"I'd recommend getting a new one. Your hip's all bruised."  
"I'm running a lot. And good prosthetic engineers aren't exactly easy to come by."  
"You shouldn't be running at all with this thing." He frowns.  
"You okay kid?" Dusk walks back in carrying a radio.  
"She'll live. Smart ass of a patient, though."  
"Not surprised. Listen, I just got off the radio to HQ. Bird won't be getting to GNR until around 0200 tonight. It's 1100 now so I'd recommend catching some R&R."  
"I second that," Butcher nods. "Your hip needs a proper rest."  
"I'm fine. It's not that bad, really." I sigh and look at Dusk, "I'll be good to go when you think we should go."  
"Good. The sooner we can get out of here and incinerate this piece of crap the better."  
"Hey!" I frown, "That's still my right leg."  
"Just go to sleep, Daniels."  
"Rodger that," I smirk and nod at Butcher. "Thank you. I appreciate it, really."  
"No problem at all," he says firmly. "Anything for the Lyons' Pride… though they aren't as small and as skinny as I remember."  
"Say what you will about short ass over there," Dusk chuckles and walks out with Butcher as I pull a blanket over myself, "but damn… she could shoot you in the eyeball from a quarter mile away."  
I smirk a bit, before closing my eyes and eventually falling asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

_1__st__ October 2279_

Dusk and I quickly move down the streets of DC again, this time covered by night. My leg has a t-shirt separating my leg from my hip, it doesn't help much, but I get by. My hip's still really tender, and the fibres of the shirt rubbing against my cuts and bruises don't do much to help. But I don't dare complain about it to Dusk, in fact I stay hot on her tail the entire time. Having a good sleep makes me energized, so I can keep up without much difficulty.  
"You talk in your sleep," Dusk says suddenly as we climb over some rubble.  
"I know," I sigh, remembering how many times Amata woke me up during the night to tell me to shut up.  
"Who's Char?" she grunts as she helps me over when my leg refuses to bend a little to get over it.  
"My wife's son," I nod and thank her.  
"No shit. How old is he?"  
"Only a few weeks old. He was born mid-September."  
"Got any photos?"  
"No. Why?"  
"I can't take an interest in my teammate's life?"  
I chuckle and keep my eyes trained on alleyways as we run, "Last I remember you were barking at me to move my ass."  
"Eh, you did your best." She shrugs, "Still a slow shot, though. So… who are you to Charlie?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"Well you certainly aren't his momma."  
"Can we talk about something else?" I sigh and run past the Chevy Chase metro entrance, "We aren't far now anyway."  
"Ha! I remember where this place is. This was the first time I saw your sorry ass!" she grins.  
I sigh again and look down at the ground and rub my ring around my finger.  
"I need to find some way of communicating with her," I mumble.  
"Who?"  
"Amata."  
"Oh you poor love sick puppy," she tuts. "Stop looking at the ground, I can't have one set of eyes here."  
"What the- you were _just _nagging me about my family life!" I protest angrily, "Are you bipolar or something?!"  
"Oh stop your complaining," she shrugs. "Look. I'll have a talk with Sarah about it."  
"No point," I mutter and walk through the old school to get into the GNR complex, "her Dad won't let me in unless the war's over and I'm coming to get her."  
"You're aware that you're a member of the Lyons' Pride? With access to the best equipment this nuclear holocaust can offer?"

"The thought has crossed my mind," I sigh as we cross the GNR courtyard and walk into the building.  
"I'll have a talk with Lyons about it when we-"  
"Is that who I think it is?!" a loud, booming voice echoes through the building. Three Dog runs down the stairs and flings his arms around me, "If it ain't the kid from Vault 101! How've you been kid?"  
Three Dog doesn't let go of me and I grunt as he squeezes me tight, "Ow… ow Three Dog, ease up man, you're squeezing the living crap out of me."  
"Oh! Sorry. It's just been so long kid!"  
"Three Dog. Do you have any mobile communication devices that could… I don't know… have a range of around a mile and have a depth range of around 40 feet?"  
"I've got 20. Why?"  
"You think Winter could borrow two?"  
The clearly hyperactive man frowns and looks at me, "What for?"  
"We're looking to check out a few abandoned military bunkers to look for some new supplies," I lie. I decide to avoid telling my wife's location to a loud mouth, excitable radio DJ, for some stupid reason. Truth was, though, the BoS had already combed through most underground bunkers we had on the map _long _before I left the Vault the first time, but Three Dog doesn't know that.  
Before I can even finish my sentence he erupts into a grin and slaps my back, "You don't even have to ask kid! You could be using it to strap it to a Mole Rat and set it loose and I wouldn't care. Anything for you, kid."  
He leaves for a few minutes, then comes back with two chunky looking walkie-talkies.  
"Wow…" I frown and take them, "This… this is amazing. Thanks."  
"Come on, Daniels. The vertibird's here." Dusk sighs.  
I shake Three Dog's hand, before hugging him a final time and running for the vertibird.

…

I knock on the door to Sarah Lyons' office later in the afternoon, and I'm reluctantly called in.  
"Oh, hey Daniels," she sighs and looks up from her mountain of paperwork. "Come in. Sit down," Lyons looks tired, like she hasn't slept in a while. Her blonde hair is tied back in a messy bun and her coffee mug is steaming beside her. Humorously and kind of cutely, Dogmeat is resting beside her in a bed she made for him. He's looking happy, which is a good thing. Beside his bed is a mountain of dog treats and water and a well bandaged leg.  
"Hey pal!" I grin and ruffle his fur, "I've missed you! How's he been, Lyons?"  
"He was crying for you after a while. Kodiak took him down to the infirmary and someone bandaged up his leg. He's a little hero after the Springvale assault, nobody seemed to mind. When he gets all better, we've got a dog trainer on base that used to train attack dogs for his village. He's going to teach Dogmeat a few things."  
"Seriously?" I grin.  
"Oh yeah. Heaps of dogs are being trained. He knows what he's doing. What's up, Daniels?"  
"I need to take a day off in a few weeks," I drum my fingers against the worn old metal on the desk.  
Lyons cocks an eyebrow at me, "Why?"  
"I um… there's something I need to do."  
Lyons rolls her eyes, "No. Request denied. I need to know where you will be at all times when you're away from the Citadel and still in active duty."  
"… Please?" I smile at her, "It'll be no more than a day. I'll be back by tomorrow night."  
"Winter, in case you haven't noticed, you aren't exactly on good footing here. You run off for a few weeks _in the middle of war_ to do god knows what. Now you want to wander off again."  
"Dusk will be with me," I shrug.  
"Oh good, I get to lose two good soldiers for no reason at all," she laughs incredulously. "Unless I have a good reason, you're not going anywhere. If it's absolutely crucial and you don't want to tell me, go ahead, but turn in your Lyons' Pride token and don't expect to get in again."  
"Harsh. Look… I'm sorry. It's something to do with my family, alright? Please, all I need is half a day."  
"Are they in danger?"  
"… I don't know," I shrug uneasily as an image of Alphonse comes into my head.  
"No, Winter. We have bigger issues to deal with. Amata is safe, and you're fighting for the BoS. If you keep it up, _maybe _I'll consider it."  
I frown, "So… what you're saying is if I'm a good little soldier and do the right thing I can go see my family."  
"Pretty much. A soldier has to have a motivation to survive."  
"I already do," I shout and stand up with both hands on the desk to support myself, "I have a wife and kid that I need to make sure is okat! Just give me a fucking day to establish a communication link between-"  
"Enough!" Lyons barks sharply, "Daniels! Shut up and sit down"  
I glare at her and reluctantly sit down, looking over and smiling at a slightly concerned Dogmeat.  
"You have a problem with authority," she stares back at me. "Considering you grew up under a dictator, I don't blame you. But you need to get your ass into gear. You've been lucky so far, Daniels. While you were off playing daddy, _we've _been fighting a war! You haven't fully grasped the scope of this thing because _you_ haven't been around."  
"Bullshit!" I shout back. "I was out here for months before I left!"  
"As an MP. MP's are the last line of defence. You don't know what you're doing out here. _I do_. Now shut the fuck up; if I hear another word out of you I'm going to make you run so many laps of the Citadel you'll come out of it dizzy."  
I open my mouth to say something but quickly close it again, but luckily Lyons manages to guess what I was going to say.  
"Where's your leg?" she exhales and sits back down.  
"I imagine Dusk has used it for target practise by now," I sigh and rub my face. "We were out on a small attack on Jefferson, on the run back to a safe zone my hip started hurting bad. When we got there the plastic around where my hip touches had frayed, probably during the Springvale thing-"  
"So it's broken?"  
"Essentially… yeah."  
"Damn," she sighs and looks at me. "You aren't much of a soldier like this are you?"  
"I'm a foot soldier," I murmur, wriggling my five working toes.  
Lyons chuckles, "That's a joke my father would make… Who made your last leg?"  
"Some guy named… Pinkman?... Pinkerton! Yeah, some guy named Pinkerton in Rivet City."  
"Do you think he could do better?"  
"He did an okay job the-"  
"No," she says firmly, "he didn't. You moved _way _too slow on that thing. I want you sprinting like a demon. If you're going to be in the Pride and not wear power armour, we need you to be moving fast."  
"Alright… Don't think I can find a better prosthetic for that though."  
"No, because your leg has been fully amputated and amputated not from the kneecap, we won't be able to use your actual thigh to help move you around."  
"What are you thinking?"  
Lyons smiles and shakes her head, "Winter, how much do you like sleeping?"  
I lean back uncomfortably in my chair and look awkwardly at Lyons, "What…?"  
"We're going to give you a needle. There's a guy we know, he might be able to give you the best prosthetic limb in the business. But he's a paranoid son of a bitch, so you're going to be under the whole time while he fits you with it."  
"I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that," I say uneasily. "What if things go south?"  
Lyons sighs and stands up, "Winter, believe it or not, I like you. I approved you into the Pride because I what kind of soldier you're capable of being and you're the kind of person I'd be happy to share a trench with. I also like Amata; she knows how to keep you in line when you go too crazy. So; I'd like to be able to return you to her relatively okay once this thing is done. I'll be monitoring you the entire time, besides; I'm absolutely positive nothing bad will happen to you."  
I exhale, take off my BoS cap and run a hand through my sweaty hair, "Um… if you're sure nothing will happen…"  
"I'm positive," she holds her hand out.  
I stand up, putting one hand on the desk, and reach the other one out and shake her hand. She smiles comfortingly at me, before I feel a hand on the back of my head and my head is pushed onto the desk.  
"Easy now" I hear Dusk grunt as she puts her kneecap on my spine to pin me down as I struggle. I feel the sharp sting of a needle into my neck and grunt as my body almost immediately goes numb.  
"Bitch," I grunt as she falls me back onto my chair.  
"You really didn't have to be that aggressive," Lyons sighs as I struggle to keep my eyes open and everything starts to go black.  
"The kid's gotta toughen up eventua…"  
Fuck...

…

I gasp and my eyes jolt open. I hear the noise of a constant _beep, beep, beep_ and I chuckle a bit to myself. As the infinite rhythm of a heart rate monitor. I place a hand on my forehead and chuckle again when my ring whacks the bridge of my nose. I feel… numb, probably still on some of the drugs from before… or… when did Dusk inject me? Where am I? What day is it? Why am I lying on a bed?  
I notice my left arm feels a bit lighter and I look at it curiously. My Pip-Boy has been opened; the only part of it that is on my arm is the needle that has been probed into it since I was 10. I curiously run my fingers around the inside of it and frown when I see most of the guts of it have been stripped. I worked in the tech business in the Vault, so I knew how to assemble and disassemble one. However actually removing one has to involve cutting into a person's (usually deceased skin), ripping out the needle probed deep into your arm that monitored your vital signs (not accurately), and replacing it with a clean one for the next user to wear. I thankfully never had to remove the needle from previous owners of Pip-Boys, which was usually a coroner or doctor's job. Why it was naked was a complete mystery to me.

Thankfully, I myself am dressed, because it would be fucking weird if I wasn't. I'm still dressed in the shirt that I wore when I was out, and I can feel the shorts in my left thigh. I look around the room I'm in. It's completely white, and sterile. A giant light is above my head, and a ceiling fan spins lazily above me. I move to sit up and drag myself back to lean against the bed, but I suddenly stop short. I felt something… I felt something on my right. I move my left leg and wriggle my toes frantically, the thing is still there, nothing is attached to it.  
Suddenly, Lyons opens the door and walks in, "Oh hey."  
I look up at Lyons and then at the heavy blankets on me from the waist down, "H… Hey… what's up?"  
"Look who's finally awake. You were out for a while," she smiles. "You feeling okay?"  
"Kind of numb- what did you do?"  
"Nothing is wrong. I just need you to relax a little bit, getting panicked wont be good for you at the moment, you've had surgery."  
"_Surgery!?_" I shout, "Why the _fuck _did I have surgery! You said that I was just getting a prosthetic!"  
"You did. A damn fucking good one too."  
"What?"  
"You need to calm down a little bit, though," she smiles. "I'm trying to have a good bedside manner, here. Don't make me restrain you."  
"Okay…" I shiver as she places her hands on the blankets and slowly starts to pull them down.  
"Oh shit!" I shout and immediately jolt back and stare in shock.

I have a leg! I have a fucking right leg! I have right toes! I have right toenails! I have a kneecap and _fucking skin on my leg!_  
"What…?" I stutter and say a million times in quick succession.  
"Surprise! Consider this an early Christmas present." Lyons smiles.  
I numbly reach down and touch my leg. I feel my fingers run along my knees and dip into the curves between my toes and do the same thing with my left leg, it feels the same.  
"I… I… how…?" I eventually splutter.  
"I told you he was good," she chuckles and lifts up my shorts, "pardon me."  
I look down and see a black line around my leg that, upon touching it, is actually cold metal.  
"Don't ask how he did it," she sighs, "but essentially this is a normal functioning leg. You'll be able to do anything with it that you could with your real one."  
"What about bones?"  
"Metal, but they're there. When I say metal, it's not pure metal. Instead it's all this scientific stuff I'm sure will go whizzing over your head."  
I just stare at it; I don't even bother to respond to her smartass remark.  
"So… I can actually… walk?"  
"Yep," she smiles. "Might take a little while though, considering that-"  
"Shut up," I frown and squint at my right toes, "I'm trying to remember how to move my right toes."  
"- that you haven't used a right leg in a while." She sighs and I manage to move my right foot.  
I burst out laughing and move my right foot around in circles, "I can't believe this…"  
"We'll be able to get you walking around in a few days, but we'll be getting you back to the Citadel by tonight anyway."  
"How long was I out?"  
"Around a day or two, it took him a while to get your measurements right. You want some food?"  
"Not hungry, what happened to my Pip-Boy?"  
"Ah, Mister Paranoid freaked when we brought you here with a computer strapped to your arm. He stripped it while you were unconscious to make sure there was no tracking device on you."  
"So… What now?"  
"Well he can either assemble it, or I can deaden your arm and rip out the needle and bandage the shit out of it."  
"It's connected to the bone in my arm," I sigh and look at it, "You can't get it out without doing serious damage."  
"Yeah, that should put you out of action for a few months…" she sighs and taps my cheek. "Can't have you sneaking off back to the Vault on leave when we need you, now can we?"  
"Yes'm," I nod and try to hide the irritation in my voice.

…

"I wanna walk again!" I protest as Lyons walks in to put me on the vertibird.  
"That's going to be difficult for your drugged out mind right now, Daniels," Lyons chuckles. "Come on, let's go."  
I frown, "Well how the fuck am I going to get onto the vertibird?"  
"Same way you got off," she shrugs and hoists me up and throws me over her shoulder.  
"Ow! Hey!" I yelp, my face burning red with embarrassment. "Knock it off!"  
"Oh please, it isn't my fault you're scrawny. You're, what? 5'3?"  
"… 5'2," I mutter. "This really sucks by the way, I have a leg and you're carrying me like a baby."  
"Well gain some goddamn weight," she chuckles. "I'm amazed you can carry all of the crap that you do."  
"This isn't funny, put me down," I shout and squirm in her arms. "Fuck off!"  
"So aggressive…" she tuts, shaking her head and tightening her grip. "Come on little tiger, let's go home."  
"Fuck off Lyons," I sigh and stop squirming. I know that I won't be able to match Lyons' strength; she's a powerhouse for fuck's sake.

She puts me down on the Vertibird and she sits down next to me. She opens a carton of crumpled up cigarettes and offers one to me, "You smoke?"  
"Not in a while," I sigh and flick my wrist at it. "No point in getting lung cancer after today."  
"Wise choice," she smirks. "You still in pain?"  
"Yeah, but I'll manage," I shrug and lean against the wall of the Vertibird. "How long until I can get back onto the field?"  
"When I'm satisfied that you're in shape. Dusk reported that you were struggling to keep up with her the other day. It isn't your fault; you can't really speed and agility like this. You're going to do what I say, aren't you?"  
"'Course," I nod, "I owe you at least that."

…

_5__th__ October_

"Winter!" Ali grins, running up and hugging me tightly.  
"Ali?" I frown and hug her back. "I thought you were in Springvale?"  
"No! I got transferred here!" she grins. "I don't think I haven't seen you in _forever_!" _  
_"Good to see you too Ali… do you mind dethatching yourself off of me now?"  
"Oh, sorry," the hyperactive blonde drops off of me and grins big. "I heard about your leg! Can I see?"  
"Ali, calm the fuck down!" I laugh, "I'm wearing shorts for fuck's sake!"  
She looks down and grins, "It looks so real!"  
"It is real, kind of," I manage to lift my leg at an angle. "I'm still getting the hand of walking around properly again. I'm so used to having to swing my right hip."  
"Come on, we'll go for a walk then."

Ali and I walk around the Citadel, even though it's kind of humiliating. Ali babies me the whole time because I'm far slower. I'm just working on not swinging my leg out at this point like I have a prosthetic, but she constantly thinks that something's wrong. But, then again, that that's Ali, the protective little minx that somehow is shorter than Amata at roughly 4 foot 10.  
"Ali!" I laugh incredulously as she grabs my arm before I take another help, "For god's sake! Stop it! You're driving me mad!"  
"I promised Amata that I would look after you."  
"When?" I tut.  
"You weren't around," she says quickly.  
I close my eyes and try to remember when I was normally walking. I take a normal step with my left leg and try to copy it with my right, but it just comes out at a long, stiff plank.  
I bend my right leg and throw it back and forth, loosening it up and bending it properly.  
"What are you doing?" Ali frowns.  
"I want to have this walking thing down before I see Amata next," I smile and take another proper step forward, then another, then another, then another. By the end of the morning, I'm walking properly around the Citadel, and even managing to go into a small jog. Ali has a smartass grin on her face and I can't help but smile back.  
"I think that this just might work," Ali nods.

* * *

Leave a review and I'll see you guys soon. Thanks to TrueNeutral for being beta.


	9. Chapter 9

15th October 2279

I slowly bat my eyes open as my morning alarm goes off, without fail, every morning. I look over at my side and smile when I hear the small little "umph" noise of my son as he wakes up, his tiny little arms nudging the air above him as he searches for me. I get up out of bed and walk to his crib beside my bed. I'd put it there because, well, I was sick of having to move around all night to accommodate my little dictator's needs. Thankfully, he had allowed me a full night's rest for tonight.  
"Hey baby boy," I smile and slowly pick him up. Charlie starts to calm down a little bit and eventually quietens down to a small whimper as I carry him with me to the kitchen to heat up one of his bottles. I sit down on the couch and give him his breakfast and tiredly run a hand through my hair.

Having a baby is exhausting. Every second of your day is devoted to your baby. No matter what he needs, you have to give it to him. But, it's the best job in the world, despite how corny that sounds. He smiles up at me as he's fed, and that's pretty much all I need to stop me from passing out from exhaustion. Once his bottle is finished, I put him back down in his crib and sit back down on the couch. I flex my hands in and out of fists and close my eyes. I choke out a sob, but quickly hold it back down. No, not today. I refuse to cry for her. Winter is fine, she's _fine_. She'll be here soon, with that smartass grin on her face to help you with the baby; you hysterical girl. No matter how much you miss her, you still have to take care of Charlie. You have to be strong for Charlie. Don't look at James and be reminded of Winter. Don't open her file and look at her picture for yours. Don't smell her jacket. Don't even think about her… don't even think about her eyes or her voice or…

I wipe away another tear, "Goddamit," I whisper and wipe my eyes, "stop it, Amata. Stop it."  
I should never have said goodbye to her at the exit of the Vault. She was right, I was so close to grabbing Charlie and running after her. No, no. Charlie doesn't deserve to spend his first months of life in a hard core warzone. I wonder what she's doing right now? Saving some village from certain doom at the hands of the Enclave? Riding through the Wasteland with Ali, carrying life-saving supplies? No, knowing Winter she would still be asleep. Oh god I miss her so much. I don't know what the hell I'm going to do when she gets back, how to hell am I going to keep my hands off her?  
But what if… No, there's no point thinking about that. You'll drive yourself crazy if you think about if she's… What if she is? What if she's trapped somewhere? Sick, hurt and dying? That fake leg constantly holds her back. What if she's…? No!

I stand up and push thoughts of Winter out of my mind, even though that's almost impossible. I stand up and nervously sip at a cup of coffee, spitting it out when I remember it's cold and from yesterday morning. I run my hands through my hair again and walk into our room again. Charlie lies silently on his crib and smiles at me when his hands reach for the little mobile above him.  
"What are you up to?" I grin and tickle his belly, "Are you up to no good, again?"  
He grins up at me, when I hear a knock on the door to the apartment, "It's open!"  
I hear the door hiss open and footsteps coming into the room.  
"Oh, hey Susie," I smile when I turn and see her leaning against the door frame. Winter and Susie must have had words before Winter left, because since then she's been attached to me like glue. She's been a huge help with Charlie, even making sure that the fridge is stocked with food when I don't have the energy to walk down to the supply room. She's no Winter replacement, but she's far better than anything I could ever have hoped for, that and she absolutely adores Charlie.  
"Hey Amata," she nods, before grinning down at the little boy. "Oh who's a happy baby boy? Huh?"  
She leans down and tickles him, and I cross my arms and smile, "Hey Susie?"  
"Yeah?" she grins and looks over her shoulder at me.  
"I need to go to the clinic today, would you mind looking after Char for the da-?"  
"_Yes! _I mean- uh… heh… no problem."  
"Alright. Put him down for a nap at around 11 or else I'll have to put him down late in the afternoon or he won't sleep the whole night."  
"Yes, yes, yes," Susie grins and lightly nudges my shoulder with my finger, "go."

…

"Oh, Amata," James smiles. "Hey, I thought that you weren't coming in today."  
"Susie is looking after Char," I nod and pull on my coat. "I need something to keep me occupied."  
"Well I was going to sort the medical supply room…" he sighs and hands me a clipboard, "Do you want to do it for me?"  
"How long will it take?"  
"Around three or four hours, best guess," he shrugs.  
"Good," I take the clipboard and look at it. "Perfect, actually."  
James leans back on his desk and smiles awkwardly, "You sleeping okay?"  
I turn around and open the door to the supply closet, "Yeah, Charlie's starting to sleep through the nights now."  
"That isn't what I meant," he says awkwardly. "You've been crying again, haven't you?"  
I sigh and shake my head, "James… I don't really want to think about her. I mean- I have to stay here and protect Charlie, I'm not sacrificing his safety so I can be with her sooner."  
"But it isn't good to bottle these feelings up, Amata," he says irritably. "Just because you don't like to talk about Winter with people doesn't mean that your feelings will go away."  
"I'm fine, James," I laugh and look over at him, "really. You know how much time Winter and I spend with each other. It's just taking some time to get used to it."  
"Amata-"  
"Look, I cannot thank you enough for staying with Charlie and me," I drop the clipboard on a shelf and walk over to him, "but you need to understand, I'm not worried about her."  
James cocks an eyebrow at me, "Really?"  
"Yes."  
"Because I worry about her every second of every day," he says and stands up properly. "I lie awake at night wondering if she's thrown herself into danger, and I fall asleep praying that she's alive and safe. Not a moment in my mind goes by when I don't think about her. And she's my daughter; I need her because she is the only child I have left."  
"What are you talking about?" I frown.  
James' face suddenly turns bright red, contrasting with his brown-grey hair, like he's said something that he shouldn't have.  
"James," I say sternly, "what do you mean?"  
"Nothing," he sighs. "Winter never mentioned a Nathan did she?"  
"No…" I frown.  
"Look, that isn't my place to talk about it. Winter is your wife, and she's going to be looking after your son. You need to more open with your feelings, or they'll expand into trust issues or severe separation anxiety."  
"What good will talking do?" I groan in frustration. "I'm not a baby, James. I can handle myself."  
"You haven't even been psychologically examined after your incident. For all we know you could have post traumatic-"  
"_Enough_!" I shout and point at him. "Stop it! My entire life doesn't revolve around thinking about Winter and I! I just came down here to work and do something other than talking to a baby for a change! I don't need you freaking me out, James! And I haven't forgotten what you said about your only remaining child."

…

"Pride! Breakfast!"  
I groan and roll away from the noise and onto something warm. I groggily open my eyes and moan as Dogmeat licks my face.  
"Eurgh!" I groan and lightly smack his face away. "Dogmeat!"  
I sit up and rub my face tiredly as Lyons walks in, "Come on, Winter. Breakfast time."  
I put both feet onto the cool metal floor and smile when I feel my right foot start to get colder.  
"I think I could get used to this…" I trail off and get up and pull on my BoS jacket and my favourite pair of jeans and I walk for the table in the Lyons' Den.  
Everyone is already eating, and I take the only empty seat and reach for a some eggs and Brahmin meat.  
"Hey!" Kodiak grins and ruffles Dogmeat's fur, "Morning, tough guy."  
He takes my plate and puts it on the ground for Dogmeat to eat, which he gladly starts to chow down.  
"Hey!" I frown and push at his shoulder, "I was gonna eat that."  
Kodiak laughs and pushes me, sending me stumbling backward and smacking onto the ground. Everyone bursts into laughter and I pick myself up.  
"I need to teach you how to fight, kiddo," Kodiak smirks and hands me half of the breakfast he didn't eat. I put the plate on the table and move to sit down, before quickly turning on my heel and launching myself at Kodiak. I smash shoulder-first into him and bounce against him while the big man doesn't as much as budge. I manage to get my footing this time, but it doesn't mean that my ego wasn't bruised.  
"It might be a good idea to lift some weights," Lyons chuckles into her cup of coffee. "You're a twig, Daniels."  
"So you've said," I mutter and sit down again.  
"Look at this!" Kodiak laughs and grabs my arm, yanking down the sleeve of my jacket, "She hasn't got any meat on her bones.

Meh, it's kind of true. I'm the type of person who has a difficulty gaining weight. If I lived on a diet solely of crap, which I pretty much have, I wouldn't gain much on the scales.  
"Welp, I'd recommend eating up," Kodiak smirks. "I'm dragging your skinny ass for a training session."  
I sigh and my shoulders slouch down a little bit and look up at Lyons, "Why do I get the feeling I'm the weak link here?"  
"Because you are," she shrugs. "We like you, Winter. But you haven't really done much in the way of fighting around here. You've had your reasons, of course."  
"So we're ignoring me practically saving Dusk's life the other day?"  
"I hadn't heard about that," Kodiak grins, before looking back at me. "Look, eat your breakfast. Then we'll get to work on putting some meat on your bones."

…

"What the hell is that thing?" I frown and look up.  
"That, my friend, is a chin up bar," he smiles and jumps up. The bar is higher than him, and he grabs it and pushes himself up and lowers himself down relatively easily.  
"Think you can do five of those?" he grunts as he drops down.  
"I don't think I can reach," I laugh and look up at the bar.  
"Come on, it's simulating a proper jump in DC."  
"Oh for fuck's sake…" I groan and crouch down. I spring up and my fingers firmly grasp the bar.  
"Alright. Up and down on the bar," he nods. "Try to do at least five."  
I push myself up, moving my head to avoid it smacking into the bar, and try to smoothly let myself down.  
"Keep going," he smirks up at me. "You're looking a little uncomfortable, Daniels."  
My stomach feels tight, but I can handle it as I block out Kodiak's teasing and raise again.  
"You'd think you'd have built up your upper body strength to compensate for your lack of agility."  
I grunt and manage to do 15 chin ups, before I drop down and run a hand through my hair, "How was that?"  
"For someone who had every excuse in the world to gain upper body strength, pretty below average." He sighs and folds his arms, "Give me twenty push ups."

…

Two hours later I stumble into the Lyons' Den stinking of sweat, dirt and even a bit of blood. Lyons looks up at me from her map of Downtown DC and bursts out laughing, "What happened to you?"  
"Kodiak happened," I sigh and slump down onto a chair.  
"Ah!" she scolds and points to the room next to the bunks. "Shower first. Then you can sit."

I scrub myself clean and walk out of the bathroom wearing shorts and a civilian shirt. I see Lyons still looking at the map and I look over her shoulder, "What's that?"  
"A map of Enclave and BoS outposts and bases," she sighs and points to a mass of blue and red shapes drawn neatly on a large piece of paper, "Blue represents BoS, red represents the Enclave."  
Blue, for the moment, seems to beat red when it comes to numbers, but I point to a red circle a few miles north of Megaton, "Why would they have a base along the river and along the highway?"  
"Typical trader route before the war, if things get desperate they hunt Mirelurks for the food," Lyons murmurs, "Sometimes the Enclave will hold up some traders and take some supplies, that and it's a good vantage point."  
"But the area's too hilly and a too large a volume of water for there to be a place to hold that many vertibirds."  
"You know the area?" she frowns.  
"Kind of."  
"And the scouts who drew up these maps and spent hours watching patrols don't?"  
I frown and cross my arms defensively, "That's just what I think. Why haven't we taken the place then?"  
"Because that's where I was just about to send you and Dusk and your supply buddy."  
"Supply buddy?"  
"That's right," she sighs, "some poor soul that doesn't meet the standards of fighting we usually strap a bag onto and get them to run after you carrying ammo and food."  
"That seems… inhumane…"  
"We give them a gun and ammo for themselves, too," she laughs incredulously, "And it's a volunteering mission, we don't grab the closest initiate and drag them into a warzone, we aren't that desperate."  
"Okay, so… Who's the supply buddy then?"  
"That little blonde girl who you were walking with signed up for the job the second she saw it. She seemed pretty eager too, something I should mention to Amata the next time I see her?"  
I laugh and punch her shoulder, "If you want me to be brutally murdered, then sure. So, what am I doing?"  
"Well we're going to put your leg to good use by having you lie on your stomach for a few hours and pick off a few Enclave personnel," she smirks. "Trust me, I'll have you running around properly soon."  
"Alright…" I sigh, "when do we go?"  
"Tonight. So I'd recommend getting some rest, alright?"  
"Alright."

…

Lyons wakes me up at 10:30, and I quickly get dressed into my BoS uniform. Dusk is already ready to go and is cleaning up her rifle and sipping on some water, while Ali sits beside her. Ali's face is as white as chalk and her eyes stare blankly into nothing and her leg nervously taps against the floor. Beside her is a heavy looking bag and I look at her and smile, "You okay, Ali?"  
"Yeah, never better," she smiles back nervously.  
"Pip squeak here is about to throw up," Dusk grunts and cocks her rifle.  
"Am not!" she protests defensively. "We're just… really close to the base."  
"Don't worry kid, Daniels has your six," Dusk stands up and slings her own bag over her shoulder. "You ready, Daniels?"  
"Yeah, good to go," I grin and look at Ali. "You want a puke bag ready?"  
"Fuck you," she sighs and hoists the bag over her shoulders.  
"Wow I didn't know that you could lift that much," I smile and follow Dusk to the vertibird bay.  
"I grew up around stables," she says quickly and awkwardly, "I can carry a lot of stuff."  
"Uh huh," I try to pay attention, but I'm focusing on remembering where I'm supposed to go when we land.

Ali's nerves only get worse as we fly towards our drop point. I feel oddly calm, with only a tad of nerves on me. Dusk looks fine, in fact she almost nods off on the way to our destination.

I smile and wrap my arms around her lower back and kiss her deeply. Amata grins and wrap my arms around my neck and presses her whole body against mine. I groan a little bit and fall back onto the floor. She straddles my waist and smiles down at me, "You are so goddamn cute," she chuckles and kisses the tip of my nose, before starting to unbutton my shirt.  
"Wake up!"  
I jolt awake and see Dusk clicking her fingers in front of my face.  
"Shit!" I shout and swat her hand off of me.  
"Come on, we're at the drop point."  
I sniff around the room and almost gag, "What's that stink?"  
"Nichols puked on the way here."  
"Aw come on," I sigh and look at Ali, then at Dusk. "I don't think we should bring her with us. She's going to be in danger if she can't keep a level head."  
"No!" Ali shouts, before calming down a tad. "I'll be fine, just- can we just go?"  
"If you want," I shrug and drop down from the vertibird.

We dropped off one or two miles from our sniping post, so we wouldn't be picked up by patrols or lookouts. It's around 11 at night, and there's nothing to hear except the faint wind going through the dead trees.  
"Daniels," Dusk grunts and starts to jog ahead, "I want your eyes to the north, you got me?"  
"Aye aye," I nod and look to the left where my Pip-boy compass shows me where north is. I feel so much more at ease than I used to be. I move more gracefully and with more speed, I feel so much better. Running around the Citadel everyday didn't give me this feeling because I didn't have a constant need to protect myself, out here, anything could come up and try to kill me. With one dead weight serving as a leg, I needed to be much more vivilant, my senses needed to be sharpened and I couldn't leave anything to chance. That's still true now, except if I ever have to outrun a ghoul I don't have to worry about being tackled by a 200 year old rotting corpse.  
We run the whole way there, although my fitness levels aren't as great as Dusk and Ali's. I still keep up, but when we arrive Dusk mutters something about Kodiak needing to get my ass into a more vigorous running plan.

Our post is inbetween two trees around 500 metres from the main base, and it's buzzing with activity. No vertibirds to speak of and the whole place it lit up with powerful search lights and regular lights powered by generators.  
"Alright, this is the plan," Dusk mutters and starts to set up her rifle. "We clear out as many of these guys as we can before we're spotted. When that happens, we book it back to Megaton for extraction at Springvale tomorrow morning at 0700. While we move for Megaton, two squads come in, clean the place up, and set up camp."  
"Sounds like a plan," I smile and load a clip into my sniper rifle. "Why aren't we running in with them?"  
"Because we're exposed out here. You aren't wearing proper armour and we've brought an unexperienced soldier with us to carry supplies. And, most importantly, it's Lyons' orders that we do not engage in close quarters."  
"I can live with that," I sigh and look through my scope, before looking back at Ali. "Ali, you remember how to get back to Megaton, right?"  
"Uh huh," Ali looks much calmer now that she realises how far we actually are from the base, though she still looks a little skittish.  
"Good. First sign of any trouble and we tell you to run, we want you to run, understand?" Dusk looks firmly at her.  
"Uh huh," she nods again, before opening her bag and putting a few clips of ammo beside the both of us as spares.  
"Alright," Dusk grins and points at the search lights, "I'm going to take out the searchlights. You focus on the soldiers, alright?"  
"No problem," I nod and cock the gun. "Permission to fire."  
She nods and picks up her radio, "Dusk to Lyons. Commencing our attack."  
"Copy that," Lyons' voice crackles through the radio. "Make me proud, ladies."

My first shot creates a nice, neat little hole in the helmet of one soldier who was leaning against the wall of the infirmary. He slumps down like a son of a bitch and before anyone can react two shots rattle off within milliseconds of each other; my shot into the neck of one unarmoured officer, and Dusk's shot into one of the searchlights.  
"Nice shot!" Ali grins to no one in particular as I frown in concentration. Within seconds the searchlights are down and Dusk joins me in picking off a few more soldiers. Immediately, sniping positions from the enemy side are set up, and they scan for us. I spot one up at the top of one make-shift watch tower and fire at him. The bullet lodges into her shoulder and she drops her rifle and howls in pain. We've dropped around 20 each, before I hear a sharp hissing sound of a bullet skimming the dirt, and Ali screams.  
"Ali!" I turn around and look at her and instinctively dive ontop of her.  
"Shit! We've been spotted!" Dusk sighs irritably, "Get up, ditch the spare rounds on the ground, let's get out of here!"  
"Were you hit?" I shout over the noise of the gunfire.  
"No, I- I don't know!" she gasps.  
"Just get up and run!" Dusk shouts at us, before grabbing her radio. "Dusk to Lyons! We've got heat on us! Send in the Calvary."  
"Copy that, Dusk. Get Daniels and Nichols out of there and come back home," Lyons responds immediately and with a sense of calm that catches me off guard.  
"Ali come on!" I shout as she starts to lag behind, "Drop the bag if you have to!"  
Ali grunts and I see Dusk turn around and shove the bag off of her, "Come on, ki-"  
"Fuck!" I shout as a bullet skims past me. "For fuck's sake!"  
I turn around and just keep running, making sure I can still hear Dusk and Ali's panting and grunting behind me. Eventually, the noise of gunfire starts to fade, and the soon we're running with the only noise being our rifles moving around our bags and the clicking of our magazines together.  
"I can't believe we made it," I grin when we stop to catch our breaths. I turn to Ali, who's doubled over.  
"Ali," I smile and put a hand on her shoulder, "Ali you did great!"  
She nods and gasps for air, "I… I rolled my ankle… I'm sorry I couldn't keep up…"  
"Whatever," Dusk groans. "We should walk the rest of the way."

…

We walk back to Megaton and barely talk to each other. Ali limps beside me and after a while I put her arm over my shoulders and support her for that last mile. When we eventually arrive back in Springvale, people smile at us, but are too busy to offer any other congratulations. Dusk walks into Springvale's main building and Ali and I walk back to my house.  
"When are you going to get a crib for the baby?" Ali grunts as I sit her down on the couch.  
"Just stay here and do whatever," I sigh. "You want your boot off?"  
"Yeah, I guess."  
I nod and unlace her boot and carefully take it off. She winces in pain a bit and I mumble an apology, before I walk upstairs and collapse into bed.


	10. Chapter 10

_November 9__th_

I exhale and shift my gaze across to the east and mutter as my eyes catch a bit of drifting dust. I keep my eyes trained on the small building ahead of me, teaming with activity of several shabby looking raiders. They actually look organized this time, with one, obviously the leader, interacting with his fellow pack members in a nice, calm, almost caring looking manner. I pick up my binoculars and look through the building windows and find the interior mostly empty, save for a few mattresses and empty food tins.  
"Goddamit…" I grunt as I see a sniper stationed with his back to me.  
"Dusk," I sigh and grab my radio, "sniper on the west tower. Going in quiet might be difficult for you."  
"Copy that," Dusk chuckles. "Do you have a knife?"  
"I always have a knife. Why?"  
There's silence for a few moments, then Dusk responds patronisingly, "Take care of him, Winter."  
I sigh and look down, before muttering, "Copy that."

I'm overlooking the raider camp around 50 metres away on a hill. The building they're staying in in tucked away from the world, covered by the hills surrounding it, a nice little communication depot for the BoS. I slip down the hill with ease and hide behind the shitty looking wooden fence. I peer through a crack in the wood and look around for anyone who may see me. There's not a soul nearby. I place my rifle on the ground and carefully climb up the fence and balance on the top of it. The sniper's post is a simple 1 metre jump across, but it's also 1 metre taller than me. I have to be careful that he doesn't hear the thud of my hands hitting the wood, so I lean my body forward. I extend my hands so that my palms hit the corner of the wood first, creating a soft pad. I carefully pull myself up, praying that the wood does not creak. I lift myself up and crouch down. I slip out my knife and creep up to him. I raise my knife and drive the blade into his brain. He instantly goes limp and his gun starts to tip forward, the trigger very quickly approaching his limp finger. My hand jolts out and I grip the barrel of the gun and tilt it up before the trigger meets his finger.

"Now where did you get this?" I frown and examine his rifle. It has a high power scope and I look through it and flick a switch, it has thermal and a heat signature scope as well. I open up the clip and find some funny looking bullets and I look down at the body. He's the typical looking raider. Filthy, sunburnt skin in a fine shade of red, with a neat little pattern of scabs cuts on him from drugs. He most likely picked it up off of a dead Enclave who BoS didn't touch. I carefully move the gun away from him and drop down the watchtower and onto the dirt.

"Oof," I grunt and crouch down again.  
"Alright, I have you on my scope," Dusk says. "Smile for the scope, sugar."  
I stick my tongue out at her general direction, perched up on a hill nearby, and I hear her chuckling.  
"You're pretty brave, Daniels," she grins, "considering I could blow you away at any given moment."  
"Just tell me what I have to do," I smirk.

The reason I'm sneaking around like a mother fucker actually took me a few tries in figuring out. Lyons said that the building was a hot spot in raider activity, which surprised me. Like packs of wild dogs, raider packs don't generally mix around each other, they usually battle over territory for the sake of just, fighting. Lyons explained the reason for caution was the fact that it had a high amount of raider activity, and this pack was known to be a big one. Dusk and I have spent the past few weeks scouting out the place, getting patrol patterns down as well as trade routes… which have been minimalized for some reason. Any gunfire and they'd come-a-runnin'. So, they decided to send in the best in expendables to try and tidy the place up without risking casualties. Dusk is sitting around with a silenced rifle, only to be used for emergencies. Gunfire creates spatter. So does stabbing, but not quite as much.

"Open the door to the main building," Dusk whispers. "Dive behind it. If anyone comes out to investigate, either stab him or I'll shoot him."  
I nod and open the door to the main building and duck behind it so I'm pressed between the door and the outer wall of the building. I wait a few seconds, then I get the all clear from Dusk.  
"Listen to me," Dusk says firmly as I enter the building, "first sign or any trouble, you come running out of there, understand? I don't want Lyons on my ass for getting your ass killed."  
"I love you too, Dusk," I chuckle and smirk and turn around a corner, before I hear a sharp click.  
"Don't move," a soldier in Enclave armour says firmly and presses his gun against my temple. "Hands where I can see them."  
"Shit…" I swear and slowly raise my hands.  
"Drop the knife," he orders. My knife clatters to the ground and I'm immediately shoved against the wall.  
"Ow- hey!" I shout as he bangs my head once against the wall.  
"Shut up!" he orders, ripping out my revolver and throwing it away from me. He pats me down and shoves me toward a staircase. "March. Hands still where I can see them."  
Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit.  
He pokes my back with the gun and I groan irritably as he does it again, "I'm moving! You don't have to poke me!"  
"Piss off you little bitch," he grunts.

When I get up another few flights of stairs, he grabs me by the collar of my jacket and pushes me into a hallway. From there, he pushes me further into another room. It's dark and dusty, with the only thing there being two chairs and a desk.  
"Sit down," he orders and pushes me into the chair.  
"Ow!" I shout as he handcuffs me tightly onto the desk.  
"That's enough!" a strong, honey southern accent booms in the room. Stepping forward toward me is a man dressed in a long duffel jacket with grey-white hair. He looks up at the man who handcuffed me and says calmly and smoothly, "Joshua, you may go now. Very good work, by the way."  
Joshua nods and leaves, shutting the door behind him. My eyes scan the room searching for a loose frame, a flaw in the wall, anything to get me to escape. The only thing I have is the door, but I'm sure that that would be guarded.  
"Relax, Winter," he smiles, lacing his gloved fingers together and drawing a comfortable breath. "You are in no danger."  
I look at him calmly, though my heart pounds hard against my chest so hard I'm actually afraid he can hear it. My mouth dries up when I see the gun at the corner of the table, and I shift in my chair slightly.  
"Congratulations on your recent promotion to the Lyons' Pride," he smiles. "I understand it's a most prestigious organization of thieves and children with guns. Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Enclave Military Colonel Augustus Autumn." He holds his hand out to shake mine, but chuckles and retreats his hand when he sees that mine are binded, "My apologies, I tend to forget the simple things."  
I ignore the comment and look curiously at Autumn, "What's wrong with your eyes?"  
Autumn has one hazel and one green eye, and both light up when I ask the question.  
"Ah, you're very perceptive," he smiles and points at them. "I have a rare eye condition, heterochromia iridum, to be exact. It means I am born with one eye a different colour than the other. It isn't as obvious as your leg amputation, but it's still a very minor disability."  
"Uh huh."  
"Your eyes are very unique too. A nice, bright, crystal blue; very powerful and equally as beautiful."  
I don't say anything and look down at my wedding ring, feeling my eyes start to go hot with tears when the thought of never leaving this room comes into my mind. Amata… I'm so sorry. I refuse to let myself cry, I won't let him see tears. I stay strong and look back at him and block thoughts out of my head.  
"Would you mind if I examine your prosthetic?"  
"Yeah, actually, I would."  
Autumn leans back in his chair and threads a hand through his hair, chuckling again. Sweat starts to line my hair as the stuffy room starts to make me hot. I lick my dried lips a little bit and struggle to stay calm.  
"You're married," he comments, a smile still on his face as he points to the ring on my finger. I don't say anything; I keep completely still and allow one bead of sweat to run down my temple.  
"Amata Almodovar," he says loudly, getting up off of his chair and pacing. "Born in January of 2259. Hispanic, brown hair, brown eyes, married to Winter Daniels, a member of the prestigious Lyons' Pride. Mother of a child, who I can only assume is… one? Two months old?"  
"… Almost two…" I croak out and do my best to hide the complete hysteria and anger in my voice.  
"Ah. What is the baby's name?"  
I don't say anything, I only close my eyes. Please… Please God, I'm begging you. I'm begging. Don't let them get hurt. Please. Please… I'll do anything. I'm sorry, I take everything back, and I'll do anything you want. I'll die if I have to, just don't let them die. Please… Please…  
"Charlie," I eventually croak out.  
"Would you like to see your family again, Winter?" he says, with every syllable of his voice dripping with Southern-joy. "I can arrange that. I can bring you right to them."  
I look up at him, "If you so much as _touch_them, I will personally rip you into quarters and feed you to Ghouls."  
"Thank you for answering that question the way that you did," he smiles. "You are proving my point as to why you're sitting here."  
"What?"  
"You were given a thorough education, correct?"  
"I don't see what that has to do with my family," I snarl. "Yeah, I was given an education."  
"Then you'll know about this great country of ours before this world became what it is today. What our lovely Capital used to be, how just a glimpse of it sent every American into patriotic pride. Now, look at it. You've been there, I know you have, you fixed that radio antennae for that buffoon on that radio station. You know how horrible it is out there, how you wouldn't dream of going there unless absolutely necessary. That's why you sent your family away, somewhere safe, so they wouldn't have to deal with them, people who respond to mere innocent questions with violent threats, such as you did just then."  
"I sent them away so they wouldn't have to deal with this war," I grit my teeth.  
"And they may never have to. Tell me something, do you know why you started fighting this war?"  
"Because you shot up and took over my father's life's work!" I snarl.  
"I know we did, but you as an individual did not have to fight in the war, I'm sure a man like your father wouldn't pressure you to put your life on the line to , instead you chose to, why?"  
"Because I want my family to be safe."  
Autumn's irritating grin spreads further up his face.  
"What?" I mutter bitterly.  
"That's what we're trying to do! We're trying to keep you and your family safe! We _want_to help the unsophisticated such as yourself, Winter. You were born out here, you know what it's like. We want to rebuild civilization, to help heal the world. We have the scientists for this who are working around the clock to find ways of treating complex radiation illnesses. We have ways of purifying small bodies of water, we can make everything work. However, you on the other hand, want power, and dominance over those who pose a threat to you."  
"Right," I mutter, finally letting my anger get the best of me, "that's why I've kidnapped you and tied you to a table."  
"A formality," he nods. "We really do want what is best for you, Winter. You, in fact, are the closest thing to a pure human I've come across who was actually born outside of a fallout facility. No mutations, no mental disabilities, in fact, you are actually a perfect representation of what the Enclave wants to achieve. A healthy, normal young woman willing to fight for her survival and… most importantly," he reaches down and taps my right leg, before lifting up the leg of my jeans and seeing the skin on my right leg, "the resources open to her to keep her intact."  
"What?" I frown, yanking down my jean leg and glaring at him.  
"Don't think we haven't noticed something, we don't leave the Brotherhood to twiddle their thumbs and talk amongst themselves. We have eyes and ears everywhere. BoS soldiers all over Rivet City, buzzing over how the soldier from Lyons' Pride, who got a piece of metal to strap onto her shirt, telling her she was a good soldier, suddenly can run and jump around like God himself has blessed her with a brand new leg. Do you believe in God, Winter? Any God at all? Any spiritual being that can answer requests?"  
"No."  
"So someone didn't bless you with a new leg?"  
"Nothing spiritual, though."  
"Alright. Do you know who gave you the leg?"  
"No…"  
"Guess what?"  
"What?"  
"I think you're lying."  
Oh shit.

"See, you Brotherhood soldiers don't like… sharing," he smiles. "It's something our parents constantly urge us to do. Augustus, share your toys with your little brother. Augustus, share your spare ammo rounds. Winter, share the knowledge of your cybernetic leg to the people who can benefit from it. Wouldn't it be nice if we knew that? Think of how many people just like you we can help. Will you help us help them, Winter?"  
"Look, I don't want to get into the ethics of what you just said, but I'm going to tell you right now, I have no idea who gave me this leg. Lyons drugged me and had me unconscious the whole time so I didn't know. All I can remember is a white room, that's it."  
Autumn takes in a deep breath and walks behind me. I can hear his boot tapping against the floor, the sound echoing across the room. Suddenly, I feel him grab my hair and yank it back. I spot something glinting against the light in the room and see a combat knife inches from my neck.  
"What use are you to me if you don't feel like talking?" he smiles, digging his fingers further in and pulling harder. "And what use is Amata, and Charlie. No one wants to touch damaged goods, she'll die alone and frightful. Who knows, he might grow up and be just like his daddy. I'll have no qualms of ending Amata's suffering early. Or, I could take her and the brat to a raider camp; have them do whatever they want to them. They can spend the rest of their days hating you because they couldn't protect you. I can do that, or I could… oh the possibilities are endless aren't they?"  
"You need me," I say through my teeth, my eyes at him and not at the blade, "you do. I don't know who he is, but Sarah Lyons does. If you lay a finger on them, I'll find out, I'll know. Lyons will tell me, and I'll bash my head against the wall until I'm dead, then what possible reason will they have to tell you then?"  
I honestly don't know how I managed to string together that excuse considering I was on the verge of a mental breakdown. Lyons Pride won't give him in exchange for me, he's too valuable. They will, however, find a way to get to me before my use to them runs out."  
Autumn smiles, "Oddly calm for a woman with a knife to her throat. Joshua, come in."  
Joshua walks in and puts my radio down on the table, "Only one casualty sir, the sniper we let into the outpost."  
"I want you to be quiet now." Autumn smiles and turns on my radio. "Hello."  
"Hello?" Dusk responds.  
"I want you to listen to me _very_carefully, because your friend's life depends on it. Understand?"  
"Who the hell am I speaking to?"  
"Augustus Autumn from the Enclave. Say hi to her, Winter."  
"For fuck's sake Dusk listen to him. Don't do anything stupid," I say sternly into the radio.  
"I've got you, Winter, don't worry," Dusk says firmly.  
Autumn tells her what he wants; the name of the guy who built my leg, or the guy in person if possible.  
"And, if there is any sign of shenanigans, and you give me a decoy. I _will_find out, and I won't hesitate in blowing this little lady away. If I don't get what I want within fourteen days, you'll be taking a corpse back with you and I'll find someone else to give hospitality to. Do you copy?"  
"I'll see what I can do," she snarls.  
"You have 20 seconds to get your plan rolling." Autumn slides the radio to me and I position the radio so I can press the button.  
"Listen to me, Dusk, and listen good. Don't worry about me, just- for fuck's sake, make sure that Amata and Charlie are safe. Please, that's all I want. Promise me that if it comes down to saving me or them, you'll save them, okay? Tell Amata that I love her, more than anything in the world."  
"Winter, we're going to get you out of there, okay?"  
"Promise me!" I shout.  
"I promise."  
August rips the radio away from me and turns it off, "Alright. Welcome home, friend."

…

_November 10__th_

"Boo!" I grin, poking my head up out of the bed. Charlie giggles and I pull up his shirt, blowing a raspberry on his stomach and adoring the look on his face when I pull away. I tickle him and his little hands move as he laughs silently. He's such a happy baby, all things considering. He cries occasionally when he wants something, but other than that he is the perfect representation of what a two month old Winter would have been. Cute, always smiling, and the best cuddle buddy ever.  
"Yah!" I laugh as I lift him up, "I love you!"  
I carry him down to the doctor's clinic and see James hunched over his desk examining a patient file. Seriously, there's around 100 people left in this Vault and we still have something to do.  
"Hey you two," James smiles when he hears Charlie's baby sounds.  
"We're here for Hepatitis B," I sigh. Yes, there is one thing in Charlie's life that is always causes him to bawl his eyes out, the constant list of immunisations he must undergo.  
"I'm sorry pal," James smiles as I lie him down on the patient bed. "Trust me, you'll be thanking me later."  
I smile and kiss Charlie's tiny nose. His brown hair is growing a little bit more, soon it'll probably look normal.  
"He's getting a nice little bit of puppy fat," he smiles and lightly taps Charlie's stomach as he swabs his thigh.  
"Is that a bad thing?"  
"Lord no, you were a chubby baby. It's good," he injects Charlie with the needle. Charlie looks around a little concerned, before starting to cry.  
"Oh poor baby," I chuckle and pick him and give him a hug.  
"Oh, don't be a wuss," James smirks at him, "you'll be fine."  
I look at James and smile at him slightly awkwardly, "I'm sorry about what I said earlier. It wasn't-"  
My voice is cut out by the sound of barking, a dog's barking.  
I turn my head and grin at James, who grins back at me. I can hear Dogmeat's nails scampering against the metal floor, clearly having picked up my scent, but something seems… delayed in his stepping. Winter probably put him on a leash and he's yanking against it in an eagerness to get to me. Dogmeat limps hurriedly into the room with a blue bandage wrapped his leg.  
"Dogmeat!" I gasp, instantly handing Charlie off to James. "What happened to your leg? Winter! What did you do?!"  
I stand up and wait for her, grinning like an idiot. After a few seconds I groan in frustration.  
"You know how she is," James laughs. "She's probably talking to someone. Go, I'll look after these two."

I sprint out of the medical clinic, a huge grin on her face. My wife is home! I can hug her, kiss her! Oh man have I _hated_sleeping alone! I'm gonna hug the living _shit_out of her when I see her! Then yell at her for letting Dogmeat get hurt, then- Four Brotherhood soldiers and Doctor Li are standing in a circle, in deep discussion, not one of them is Winter.  
"Hey Li!" I grin and hug her, "James is in the medical clinic if you're looking for him."  
Li turns and nods at me.  
"Where's Winter?" I grin. "The cheeky bastard's being a tease again."  
I look at the BoS soldiers, who step back awkwardly and look at the ground. I look back at Li, who looks at me.  
"No," I shake my head and step away from her, "no. Please, no."  
"Look, she isn't dead, but it isn't looking good. We'll explain everything later, but for now we need to get you and Charlie to safety in the Citadel. You're in danger here."  
"Why just us three?" I shout as Li walks to our apartment.  
"Because you're in danger?"  
"What the hell did she do?!" I shout' "What happened to my wife?!"  
"Look, just get enough stuff packed for Charlie and pack some damn clothes. I'll get James to get some baby formula."  
"Where is she?" I beg, grabbing her arm. "I need to know where she is, I need to be with her!"  
"Amata! Keep calm," Li says firmly, "Freaking out _won't_help the situation."  
I sigh and nod rapidly, "O… Alright… Alright…"

I run into my apartment and frantically pack Charlie and I's clothes and stuff a few tins of baby formula into the bag as well.  
"Winter what have you gotten yourself into?" I whisper and throw my bag over his shoulders.  
When I eventually make it back into the clinic, James and Madison are engaged in a heated argument with Dad.  
"I'm sorry, Alphonse, but if there is an imitate danger to them, we _have_to move them to someplace safer!" Li says irritably.  
"But the Vault is the safest place out there!"  
"You don't have the defences to hold down this place! We'll station a few BoS personnel to guard the outside of the Vault in the chance that the Enclave will invade your property," one of the soldiers says back at him. "Trust me, you don't know who you're dealing with here!"  
"I'm not allowing my grandson to go out there!" he roars back.  
"It's the safest option! He'll be fed pure food and kept well away from any physical harm," Li says firmly but with a very motherly tone to her voice. "The Citadel was created with state-of-the-art defences, the lowest levels are able to withstand the force of an atomic bomb and some rooms can be locked from the inside and are unable to be opened, even withstanding the force of a rocket launcher. He _will not be harmed_, Alphonse."  
"You dare to call me by-"  
"Enough!" I shout. "We're wasting precious time here. I've been to the Citadel, it's safe, an entire military between my son and the people who want to harm him is fine by me. Can we just go, please? I'm very, very interested in the opportunity to find out what the _hell_has happened to my wife, please."  
Dad glares at me, "Now is not the time for Winter to _again_ play a part in you parental decision making. She is twenty two years old, she does not need a baby sitter."  
"I never said that she did, Charlie isn't safe here, Dad! More than anything I need him to be safe. They have medical supplies there! We have everything that we need to keep him healthy, I need him somewhere where I don't lie awake at night thinking that something horrible is going to happen. He's _my_son, and it's _my_responsibility to what happens to him. If you have a problem, deal with it."  
I pick Charlie up in my arms and James picks up my bags.  
"Pride! Move out!" One soldier, with Kodiak written on his right breast plate, speaks into a radio, "We have the targets and are moving out, over."  
"Copy that Kodiak. Vertibird is standing by for extraction, over."

…

"Ali!" I shout as I run into the Citadel. I see her sitting down on a bench and she runs up to me and hugs me tightly.  
"Where… Where is she?" I hold back tears.  
"She's being held captive, high priority target."  
"Oh god…" I whisper and bury my face in my hands. I feel like I need to move, I need to run somewhere. I can't stay still, I need to do something to make sure that she's okay. No! No, no no! I need to stay here, I need to keep Charlie safe, I need to make sure that he has a parent left to raise him.  
"Hello Amata," Sarah Lyons exhales as she walks up to me and shakes my free hand that isn't holding Charlie, "Do you remember me?"  
"Yes, of course I do," I nod. Sarah sounds equally as stressed out as I do. She has bags under her eyes and her hair is tied back into a slightly messy bun.  
"So, this must be Charlie," she smiles tiredly and shakes his hand with her thumb and index finger. "I've heard a lot about you, little man."  
I smile a little bit when Charlie smiles, before Sarah takes action, "If you'll follow me I'll take you to your quarters."

I follow Lyons quickly down the Citadel's levels, and frown where we pass the guest rooms, "Where are we going?"  
"The Lyons Den," Sarah breathes. "The safest place in all the Wasteland."  
She opens the door inside and I one woman sitting down at a long table eating noodles. Upon seeing me, she immediately stands up and rushes over to help me move the bags.  
"Dusk, just put them where Winter's things are," Sarah nods.  
"Right away," she says and places my bags beside a few that Winter carries around with her.  
"Why is Winter's stuff here?" I frown.  
Sarah and the woman I assume is called Dusk look at each other for a few seconds, then at me.  
"Why wouldn't they be here?" Dusk frowns.  
"Isn't this room meant for Lyons Pride members?"  
"Yeah."  
"Then why is an MP sleeping here?"  
"Uh oh," Dusk looks at Sarah and chuckles. "This isn't good. Might be better if the kid stays wherever in that building she's holed up in."  
"Excuse me, does anybody want to fill me in?"  
"Well your wife is sleeping and storing her equipment in a room that is meant exclusively for Lyons' Pride members," Dusk says slowly.  
"She didn't," I gasp and look at the names of the members written on the wall in stencil. Right down the bottom of the list, in fresh looking black paint is Daniels, Winter K.

God dammit Winter.


	11. Chapter 11

Sarah, Kodiak and Dusk sit me down at the long table once I've put Charlie down for a nap. That took a while, however, once Dusk stopped cooing over him, saying that he looked a lot like me and she wrapped him up in a BoS blanket.  
"This is the situation," Sarah says gently. "Yesterday, I deployed Dusk and Winter to clear out a small building to serve as a new communication post against the Enclave and pick up Enclave radio signals. From what we can gather she is currently being held hostage by Enclave soldiers. They will let her go in exchange for information regarding a scientific breakthrough."  
"Alright… why did Winter get into the Lyons' Pride?" I sigh and rub my face.  
"Because she was good enough to do what was required of her," Sarah says. "Her hopes were to be able to have enough money to support you and Charlie by the time you left the Vault, or, in this case, the end of the war."  
"You let her, the way that she is, to fight on the front lines?!"  
"I didn't just pick her because she can hold a gun, Amata," she says calmly. "Winter has the ability to hand herself. Dusk and Winter had spent days scoping out the place, getting down patrol routines and trying to find out if something was off. They didn't rush in immediately."

"So, what are we doing to get her out of there?" I say irritably.  
"Amata, we're doing everything that we can to help her. Winter can hold her own against them, hopefully she knows to keep her mouth shut and not to piss off the people with a gun to her head."  
"Has anyone spoken to her?"  
"For a few moments," Dusk nods. "Through my radio. I haven't heard from her since yesterday, which could mean a lot of things. I would understand if they wanted to keep communication to a minimum."  
"Well, use the radio then!" I shout. "Talk with the Enclave! Strike a deal."  
"We've tried that already, they aren't budging for anything other than this guy." Sarah groans. "We don't want to give up land because it will just mean more casualties in getting it back over time. The only thing we can really consider at this point is either we create a decoy or we storm the place. But that's a risky option."  
"Wait!" Kodiak snaps his fingers and points at Dusk. "I have an idea!"  
"Well don't keep it to yourself, dipshit!" Dusk shouts irritably.  
"We're looking at this thing in a BoS standpoint. Clearly the Enclave wants their information, and they won't budge for it, but maybe we can give them something else that the BoS can't give them, that they want."  
"What's that?"  
"Soldiers."

"What are you thinking, Kodiak?" Sarah frowns.  
"We hire a group a raiders, bribe them off. Then, we get one guy to bring them in and offer them as work slaves in exchange for Winter."  
"No, no raiders," I shake my head firmly, "they're too aggressive."  
"Plus, no amount of slave workers will equal to this kind of tech."  
"Why can't you just give it to them?" I frown. "Surely there are copies of this tech?"  
"There's work of his that we have, yes," Sarah nods, "but we've gotten our top scientists to poke and prod at this stuff for years, we can't figure out how it works."  
"I'm sorry, but honestly, can I _please _just know what this technology is?!" I shout irritably, "I mean, it's the reason I'm here isn't it?! To get away from people who _want _this tech?!"  
"Because it's classified, Winter doesn't even know how the tech works. They're just using her for leverage."  
"Wonderful, then give the impossible tech to the Enclave to poke and prod at for years and scratch their heads over," I shout angrily, "Why are we even discussing this?"  
"Because we need to minimize the damage of this situation. This is very delicate," Sarah points at a map on the table, one with blue and red circles and one golden one. The golden circle is surrounded half by blue and half by red.

"If we cause too much of a problem, these two sides will erupt in a full scale battle because the building in the middle got jipped. They want the scientist, not his impossible to understand on its own material. They'll kill Winter, and we'll have to fight back. On top of that, we aren't as well supplied in the North. We'll be massacred and territories will be lost, as well as civilian lives. We cannot allow the Enclave to have a good hold of northern settlements and trade routes, our supply caravans will be intercepted and we'll be running dry on ammo by the end of May."  
"What are we going to do then?" I yell, starting to get hysterical.  
"Calming down would be a start," Dusk rolls her eyes. "Look, we're doing everything we can here, we still have twelve days to get something together. Winter and I are close, she's had my back before, I've got hers. We'll think of something, alright?"  
I hear Charlie start to cry and I walk over and get him. I hold him tightly when he calms down and I sit down at the table.  
"I can't lose her," I look up at Sarah as the others leave. "No matter what, I cannot lose her. Charlie needs her, I need her."  
"We're doing everything that we can to get her back, okay?"  
"I- I can't do anything. I'm so used to being able to look after her. I can't now; Charlie will always take first priority for me."  
Sarah smiles at the baby as I hold him, "He looks healthy. Don't worry, we'll have Winter back with you guys before the week is out."  
"Good, I'll be able to yell at her then," I sigh and look down at Charlie, who looks innocently up at me.

"Dusk!" Winter's voice shouts through the radio. Sarah instantly springs onto the radio and grabs it.  
"Daniels! Daniels, it's Lyons here. What's your status, over?"  
There's the sound of a crackling radio and a bit of static, before she grunts.  
"Look, they're getting r- impatient," she says, her voice sounding strained as well as the radio occasionally cutting out. "I've had to spend the whole day trying to get them to give me the radio back. Are they safe?"  
"Winter," I beg, grabbing the radio, "Winter, can you hear me?"  
There's silence for a few seconds, before I hear crackling and some faint arguing.  
"Baby?" Winter's voice crackles through the radio. A flood of relief hits me and I hold back tears of happiness.  
"Oh god it's good to hear your voice," I laugh and wipe away tears with my shoulder. "Thank god you're alive."  
"I'm fine, honey. Don't worry about me," I can hear her smile through the radio.  
"I love you, so much," I run a hand through my hair, "We're doing our best to get you out of there, okay?"  
"How's Char?"  
"He's fine, but honey we need to focus on you right now."  
"Does he look like you?"  
"Yeah, though he acts like you."  
"Oh boy," she chuckles, "I know that you're gonna love that."  
"He smiles a lot, he's so happy." I smile, "He's going to love you when you get home."

"… I love you, okay?" her voice doesn't sound quite so happy, and I shake my head, even though she can't see me.  
"Tell me that when I see you next," I sigh, "We're negotiating, honey, you're going to be okay."  
"I know, I know. How about you, are you doing alright?"  
"I miss you. Do you want to talk to Dad?"  
"Yeah, I guess…"  
James picks up the radio and wipes his eyes, "Hey kiddo."  
"Hey Dad."  
"How're you holding up?"  
"I'm doing okay actually… food's kinda crappy and the bed isn't as great as I thought."  
"Are you hurt?"  
"I've got a few broken fingers and I think my nose is broken."  
Oh god… I bury my face in my hands and shake my head.  
"I've got… what? Twelve days left?"  
"We're getting you out of there, Winter," James says firmly. "You just sit tight, alright?"  
"Considering I'm locked in a room and my wrists are bound together… I don't think I'll be moving any time soon. I have to listen to the Enclave Radio all day though, that's kind of a bummer. I love listening to some old guy bitch about things he can't control. Look, don't bother with the guy, just try to-"  
I hear a sharp crack and I hear the noise of Winter grunting in pain.  
"Hey! Back the fuck off!" I hear her voice shout.  
"Come here you little-" a man's voice growls, before the radio goes dead.  
"Winter? Winter!" James shouts into the radio, "Winter can you hear me?!"  
I close my eyes and shake my head, "Oh god…"

…

_11__th__ November_

I wake up to Charlie squirming in my arms and Dogmeat lying at my feet. I mumble and kiss his cheek softly, "I love you, baby boy."  
I sit up and rub my face anxiously, when I open my eyes I see Dusk frowning at me.  
"What?" I frown.  
"Nothing, sorry I thought you were talking to yourself," she mutters. "Winter came back on the radio overnight, but she could only talk specifics so we didn't wake you."  
"How is she?" I ask urgently, holding my son close to me as if someone will come and take him from my arms at any moment.  
"She's alive, that's all the matters," she nods.  
I get up and put one of Winter's coats on.  
"Where are you going?" Dusk frowns.  
"I'm going to the archives," I say firmly and pack a few bottles for Charlie. "There has to be something worth of value that trumps the medical research they're holding her for."  
"Why are you bringing him?" She frowns, "Trust me Amata, the Scribes will kick you out the second you even _hint _at the idea of bringing a kid into their archives."  
"Fine, you take him," I hold Charlie out to her.  
"Oh," she stumbles, "I… um…"  
"Oh, it's easy, just feed him when he starts crying and change his diaper every hour. If he keeps crying, get some earplugs."  
"W… What? I…" Dusk frowns and holds him. "W… What if I do something wrong?"  
"Just don't drop him or feed him normal food that you would eat. If there's any problems just get someone to get me."  
"Um…" Dusk holds Charlie out at arm's length, though supporting his neck and his head.  
"It's fine, your job is to listen for radio activity, right?"  
"… Yeah?"  
"Then good, you might not even have to lift a finger if he sleeps the whole time." I nod, "Do it as a favour to Winter and I."  
"O…kay."  
"I'll be back in a few hours to check on him."

…

"Hello," a scribe dressed in a red robe greets me, with a sense of annoyance in her voice, "can I help you?"  
"Yeah hi, I was hoping to look at some of your archives." I nod and stuff my hands in Winter's jacket pocket.  
The scribe scoffs a little bit, "I'm sorry this archive isn't open to civilians."  
"I'm the family of a BoS personnel," I say, pushing her shoulder back and stepping in through the door. There's books everywhere, crammed into shelves with several computer terminals.  
"Excuse me!" the scribe barks. "Come back here!"  
"I'll only be working for a few hours," I turn around and tap the "Daniels" patch on my jacket and my wedding ring, "I'm married to one of the Lyons' Pride Members."  
Her face instantly snaps into one of shock and realisation, "Oh! Yes, you are Amata Almodovar."  
"Amata Daniels," I correct.  
"Yes, of course, Mrs. Daniels," she nods sharply and picks up a piece of paper and scans it, "You'll have to forgive me, during war time I have to be cautious as to whom I allow in here."  
"Uh huh," I nod, "can I please use the archives?"  
"Yes, of course," she puts down a slip of paper, one of these with my picture on it, as well as a blurry photo of Charlie. I don't question it, because it doesn't surprise me.

I lived in the library when I was in school. While Winter was busy climbing trees and shooting her BB gun in the lower decks on the Vault during our final high school years, my nose was buried in a book. The Vault had a decent library and I could expertly navigate through the shelves with the best of 'em. I almost drool when I see the Brotherhood of Steel's library. I only saw a small room of books, but when you enter the room, which is around 5x4 metres, you don't see the archway to the far left. It's like a warehouse filled with books. It smells of 200 year old paper, and I struggle to concentrate as I wander up and down the shelves, running my fingertips along the spines of the books as I go. I make my way down to a section called American History, and my eyes light up. I had never told Winter this, but I used to listen to the Enclave Radio when she was away, just for something to listen to other than GNR's Three Dog when he became irritatingly annoying. John Henry Eden, the President of the United States, I have grown to find irritatingly annoying as well, in a sense that he is overly patriotic and has the personality of a rock.

Within a few minutes I'm sitting at a desk with a small pile of books beside me. Everything from the Revolutionary War to World War Two is piled beside me, and I look at it dauntingly. Somewhere in this pile of books is something that will mean more to an overly patriotic organization than the medical research that they're holding Winter for. I decide to work backwards, I flip through one thick book on World War Two, before my fingers glide against something smooth and I find the small section of pictures. Smiling American soldiers, pictures of Russian and Germans in combat, maps, diagrams, casualty reports… ugh… this is going to be a pain in the ass.

Four hours later and I'm still studying hard. I hold a book in my right hand and a pencil firmly in my left, scribbling down important names and documents onto a notepad that would be of importance to the Enclave in the DC area. I've got war weapons, a book of speeches from famous American presidents, but nothing that could really scream "Oh my god I need this right now."  
"Need a hand?" the woman who interrupted me looks over my shoulder.  
"Um… no," I flick the notepad shut and look back at her.  
"American history?" she smiles and puts her hands behind her back and smiles down at my book.  
"Uh huh."  
"Y'know… that's Enclave-friendly material…"  
"Then why do you have it in your library?" I sigh.  
"We're debating removing the books from the library. It promotes Enclave ideals and morals."  
I frown, "What are you talking about? This is American History, we have to know who our ancestors were and what they did."  
"The last thing that we want is for people to read these books and leave us for the Enclave."  
"But- what about the history behind our country? The Civil War and the Revolutionary War?" I snap back. "Surely people should be able to read these stories and feel hope?"  
She looks at me like I've grown a second head, "We'll bring these books back at the end of the war."  
"Unchanged?" I frown, cocking one eyebrow up.  
"Perhaps," she shrugs as I tuck the notebook neatly in the breast pocket of Winter's jacket, which still has a few spare revolver rounds in it.

"How did it go?" Dusk asks as I walk back into the Lyons' Den. She holds an asleep Charlie in her arms and has a pen and paper beside her, which is empty.  
"Did you hear from Winter?"  
"No, no radio activity at all."  
I take the notepad and flick it onto the table, "Why is the BoS going to change American History?"  
"History is written by the victor, Amata," Dusk sighs. "Winter and I sat down once and talked about why she wasn't religious. Her reasoning was that she couldn't credit a book written about something that happened over two thousand years ago, she had said that something had to be lost in translation. America became an independent nation in 1779, right?"  
"1783,"  
"Exactly, I fucked up the date, because I grew up learning how to read and write using books that had been rewritten because in all of the others the ink had faded and the paper yellowed. You had clean books in that tin can you grew up in, you were fine. Eventually, the American Civil War will be known as this war, and the one 18-something will become a distant, unclear memory. Might as well tilt it in our favour before the information becomes useless."  
"But that isn't right." I sigh.  
"Life isn't fair, Amata. Surely you of all people will know that," she sighs. "If this is your biggest concern at the moment, you're doing pretty well."  
"Oh come on, I spent the past hours researching old racist assholes who founded this country," I groan and collapse into a chair and rub my temples. "God, I love reading and everything… but _damn_."  
"Take your kid," Dusk carefully places Charlie in my arms. "He's adorable and not a little brat, congratulations."  
"Hey little guy," I smile and kiss his forehead as his little nose scrunches up as he wakes up, "did you miss me?"

"Um… hello? Anyone here? Dusk?"  
Two hours had passed; I'm lying on my bed, thumbing through a book on American History, the second I hear my wife's voice I jump up and run to the radio on the desk. Dusk rushes in and tries to grab the radio, but I snatch it from her.  
"Winter? Winter you there?"  
"Yeah hon, what're you doing manning the radio? I figured you weren't the type for negotiating with Enclave officers."  
"Are you alright?"  
"I'm fine. I get knocked around a little, but nothing serious. Look, I need to talk to Dusk about something, alright? I love you, Amata."  
"Love you to-"  
"Talk to me, Daniels," Dusk interrupts me and grabs the radio.  
"Alright, listen up," her voice crackles through the radio, "… Amata? Are you still these?"  
"Yeah," I nod.  
"Dusk," she says in a firm tone.  
She looks at me and points at the door, "Sorry Amata, classified information."  
"Oh that is bullshit!"  
"Amata!" I can hear her smirk through the radio, "Move your ass girl. I'm sick of being here, the sooner I can get out, the better."  
"Whatever," I sigh and throw my hands up in the air, "I'm going to go and argue with that idiot in the archives a little more."


	12. Chapter 12

**Yeah, I've been gone a while, haven't I? I'm sorry there isn't much of an excuse for it except for the fact that I just didn't feel like writing. What I did write was shitty and I deleted it shortly after. But I should be able to get back into the swing of things now. Enjoy and don't forget to review :-)**

November 15th

"I honestly have no idea how Winter went this long without teaching you how to shoot," Dusk sighs and reloads my rifle for me.  
"She taught me, I just haven't fired a gun in a while," I look through the sights and frown, "So… explain it to me again?"  
"We're negotiating to exchange her for an American relic," she throws a clay target into the air. I shoot and horribly miss, the stock kicking me in the shoulder and sending me stumbling back a little bit.  
"My god you're not BoS material," she chuckles.

"I don't want to be," I shrug and cock the gun.  
"Because you're a book worm," she throws again, and I fire and miss. "We managed to give down a shortlist, which can help the more patriotic of them and unfortunately increase recruitment."  
"You guys think she's worth that?"  
"Winter is a recruitment device within herself. She has a Medal of Valor as well as the Pride attached to her name and when she was in Springvale people were astounded that people could still fight the way she was; what with her coming back to base covered in dirt with a fighting spirit still in her."  
"What happens when she gets back?"  
Dusk sighs and throws another clay target. Shoot, miss, "Well considering she's been injured more than twice in the line of duty she has the option of being discharged."  
"Discharged?" I grin, "Seriously?"  
"Well, yeah. We have enough numbers to allow one soldier to be let go. We'll still call her in every now and then to tell a few stories to promising recruits over how she was the queen of being a lucky motherfucker."  
"So we can go home, to Megaton? To raise Charlie together and grow old and grumpy?"  
"I suppose so…"

I grin. It'll be over, finally over. I get to wake up and the first thing I get to see every morning is Winter sound asleep beside me, happy and safe. I won't have to wake up every morning and spend every second of every day worrying about her whenever she's away. Sure, we'll sometimes be apart for a few days, like if she's going to Rivet City to visit James or to the Citadel to visit her BoS friends, but she won't be in any immediate danger.  
"When can we get her home?" I grin happily.  
"Well… maybe tomorrow, or the day after. Definitely not today," Dusk sighs. "Until then, you need to practise your shooting."  
Dusk and I practise for another half hour, before I hear some barking and I turn around. Dogmeat is lightly limping toward me, now bandage free.  
"Hey little guy!" I grin excitedly and crouch down, "How're you feeling?"  
Dogmeat had spent his recovery time being spoiled rotten by the Lyons' Pride members. He had old Brahmin bones to chew on, more blankets than he knew what to do with, and was fussed over by Lyons and Dusk when Lyons wasn't busy fussing over Charlie. One of the nurses in the hospital even brought in a little knitted BoS power armour doll for him. She was happy to do it, "It's nice to tend to new life as a break from looking after wounded men" were her choice of words. Dogmeat, on the other hand, his affections mainly went to either the soldiers who were stationed in Springvale, or the Pride exclusively. A small little round of salutes come from of the passing knights and paladins as he jogs toward me.

"Who's this little guy?" a gruff voice grunts behind us.  
"Washington?" I gasp, "Winter told me you were out of action."  
"Is that what the little pipsqueak told you?" He chuckles, "Well… yeah she was half right. Got myself shot right in the ass, still have a little bit of a limp so they booted me off active duty until I got to 100%. However, I volunteered myself to help train some of the mutts here into fine, four legged soldiers for our cause.  
I raise my eyebrows, "You know how to train dogs?"  
"It isn't that hard," he shrugs, "I grew up in a village not far from the north of downtown DC. We always had two things we could count on, raider attacks, and packs of wild dogs in the area. So, we capitalized on the dogs. Me and my family raised dogs, bred them into guard dogs for the village, we even sold a few that we didn't need to settlements around the Capital Wasteland. Heck, Dogmeat himself probably came from my village."  
Dusk chuckles and puts my rifle over her shoulder, "You know your dogs then?"  
"I know how to turn this one into a smart, efficient, hunter, yes. By New Year's I'll have him sniffing out Enclave armour and making his jaw drool whenever he smells a mutie."  
I chuckle, "Alright, calm down…. when do you need him?"  
"Now," he smiles and bends over, patting Dogmeat's head, "He's a strong pooch, fast too and not cowardly. Winter used him a few times in some missions in downtown DC."  
Oh good, another thing I get to argue with Winter about for hours when I see her next. Joy.  
"I'm going to go sort out the preparations for Winter's release," I sigh and run a hand through my hair. "Just so we're clear, you hurt him and I hurt you."  
"Yes ma'am," he chuckles, before whistling and clicking to guide Dogmeat away with him.

…

November 16th

"Get up," someone grunts and rips me off my chair.  
"Woah hey," I grumble and rub my tired eyes. I had just sat down to eat the Brahmin steak given to me by some soldier before I'm dragged back only a few minutes later.  
"You've got an appointment, just shut up and you'll be fine," he sighs and handcuffs my hands behind my back.  
"Where are we going?" I frown as he guides me further down the building.  
"Just don't say anything," he says again and opens a door. Sunlight hits my face and I instantly close my eyes. It's been… I don't know how many days since I've seen the sun. I blink a few times and it takes a couple of minutes to adjust to the light. We're walking out to a courtyard with a vertibird in the centre, with five soldiers guarding it and a BoS insignia on the side. I feel something cold and metal poking the back of my neck that I'm sure it's a revolver as we move closer towards us.  
"Your friends could be watching us," the soldier grunts as a soldier opens the door. I move my foot to get in but I'm pulled back. The soldier guiding me out of the building turns to the other and says clearly, "Alpha."  
The soldier closest to the door nods and says, "Romeo."  
"Why the call and response thing?" I frown as I'm allowed onto the vertibird. I'm not given an answer as the other soldiers pile in and the door is shut behind us.  
"Where are we going?" I ask again, but again, I'm not given an answer.

Nobody talks during the vertibird ride, they just sit and look directly in front of where they're sitting. I'm sitting in between two soldiers twice my size and I'm squeezed in between their power armour, which is boiling hot from the sun. I close my eyes and try to get an idea of where we are, but it's impossible because I can't see anything outside and I'm sure they're deliberately taking a long, complicated route to confuse me. After around half an hour and some radio chatter from the pilot and someone else I can only assume is in a base, I hear something loud and we suddenly clunk to a stop. I frown as the soldiers simultaneously rise and the two beside me pick me up by my biceps. Because of my height difference, by feet dangle inches from the ground as I'm carried from the vertibird.  
"I can walk," I protest as we drop down, but I again I'm ignored.  
We're outside another building, this time heavily guarded by Enclave personnel. A few vertibirds are lined in a concrete runway and there are tents lining the right side of the four story building. The building itself looks a lot like Springvale's base, built on the foundations of a ruin but looking like it can stand some damage. I don't think I'll be rescued here. The base is swarming with officers and soldiers, all looking organized and relatively calm. A few look at me, some with a chuckle that doesn't exactly make me at ease. I'm guided through the doors and into the building. It's cool inside and quiet, with a clean floor and weird black and white photos all around the walls. Office doors with names stencilled on them run along hallways and I'm moved along into a basement. This basement is well lit and has Colonel Autumn sitting in the middle, with a suitcase sitting on the table in front of him.

"Hello Winter," he smiles as the soldiers carrying me drop me onto my feet. "Please, take a seat."  
I walk down and take the seat opposite from him. Autumn nods and the soldiers behind me and I hear the door open and close as they leave.  
"Did you have a pleasant flight here?" he asks as he puts his hands on the table and intertwines his fingers together.  
"It was fine," I shrug and look at the box. "What's in the case?"  
"Well," he exhales and shrugs his shoulders, "something occurred to me, that being that I haven't gotten to know you very well."  
"You tried to kill me, I wasn't really up for conversation," I trail off as he pulls the case towards him.  
"Well if we're going to be working together I suppose it's only fair that we know something about each other."  
"What the hell do you-!?"  
"I'll explain as we go," he says in a firm voice as he opens the suitcase.  
"Chess?" I frown as the board opens and little pieces litter around it.  
"Oh you know chess?" he asks delightedly.  
"Yeah I used to play it with my Dad and Amata when I was younger," I pick up a king and brush my thumb along the polished, pristine wood.  
"Good, then you won't mind if you and I play a game?" he asks happily as he starts setting up his pieces.  
I sigh and nod, "Fine."  
I set up my pieces and we start playing, though I'm distracted as we do so. Autumn's face as we play is one of pure delight, which I'm sure is a cover for something. I sucked at chess whenever I played it, Amata wiped the floor with me almost every time. The entire time I'm playing he asks me questions that I really don't feel like answering. Things like "What's your favourite weapon to use?" "Where do you see yourself in 10 years?" "Do you plan on staying with the BoS?" When my answers seem to him to be consistently flat and undescriptive, he gets on with it.

"I think that you could be of good use to me," he says as he takes my pawn with one of his own.  
"How so?"  
"Well, you can still maintain your loyalty to your Brotherhood, and if you do as I request you can actually help them?"  
"How so?" I repeat as I take his bishop with my other pawn.  
"You can serve as a… courier of information."  
"A courier?" I frown as my knight falls.  
"Why yes," he nods, "because you're of enough use to be saved, but not as important that you must constantly be needed."  
"What the hell are you talking about?"  
"I give you information on what we want in exchange for BoS POWs to be released."  
"Oh, I'm a negotiator?"  
"Eh… in a sense," He shrugs as I take his bishop.  
"Can I ask you something?"  
"You can try," he looks down at the board and plans his next move.  
"Why did you not just wait for us to finish Project Purity? My dad was close, and I think you knew that. Why couldn't you just wait and let us spend our own resources?"  
Autumn seems to ignore me for a second, then stands up abruptly, "We'll call it a draw, shall we?"  
"Why?"  
"Because I want to show you something."

Autumn leads me through a labyrinth of hallways, staying silent and saluting to every soldier who salutes him. I turn a corner and smack headfirst into a doctor who's standing in front of a large metal door.  
"Open your eye," he says firmly and turns on a light.  
"What? I-"  
"Open," he says again and does it for me. He uses his thumb and index finger and opens my eyelid as much as possible.  
"Why?" I groan. I hear a small clicking noise and a red light blinds my right eye.  
"Fucking-!" I begin to swear, before collapsing onto my knees and frantically blinking my eye.  
"I can't see, asshole!" I almost scream as I paw at it.  
"Come on," Autumn sighs and picks me up by my arm as the big metal door opens, "it's only temporary."  
What is it with me being disabled on my right side? First my leg now this crap.

"Look at this," Autumn says firmly and lifts my head up. It's a huge garage, usually where old military vehicles would be stored in the old movies I used to watch when I was a kid. I can only imagine that the huge sliding door thing at the very end is where the trucks and stuff were driven out. Except this isn't used as a garage, it's a hospital.  
"What about it?" I frown.  
"This isn't a military wing, that's upstairs. This is for civilians."  
"So?"  
"So? What do you mean 'So?'"  
"We have our own sick civilians. This isn't very shocking."  
"Because you're used to seeing sick people every day. These people are all sick with radiation poisoning or starvation."  
"You can heal them all?" I frown.  
"We're doing what we can," he sighs. "We're administering a series of treatments for all of them, but these people were born to be like this, unfortunately the Lord hasn't been to kind to all of them. Your son, Charlie, he'll be this way as well, he'll be forced to drink irradiated water as well."  
"We have purified water," I look over at him.  
"It's not mass produced and you know that. The simple reason why we took the Project, is because we know that your comrades either would take too long to administer the water, waste it, or keep whatever you purify for your soldiers. We believe it would be better off in our hands."  
"You didn't try just… asking to help out? Maybe just donating some fucking resources instead of killing people who did nothing to you and almost murdering my father in the process?"  
He chuckles and he puts his hands behind his back, "If only diplomatic conversations were always so simple."  
"You aren't allowed to have that attitude," I mutter.  
Autumn chuckles and looks at me, "We're willing to call this war off, Daniels. All we want is Springvale and half of your military to be disbanded. But we cannot talk about this now."  
I look over my shoulder and see an Enclave officer standing behind us holding a satchel.  
"Our demands for this war to finish," Autumn nods as the officer hands me the satchel, "If you and your organization don't want more lives to be lost from what you believe is a pointless war, you'll accept our terms."  
I look down at the satchel, "So I can go back?"  
He nods, "There's a vertibird waiting for you. We'll drop you off a mile or two from the Citadel, then we'll expect a response by Christmas Day."  
"Fine."

November 17th

I limp into the Lyons' Den in the early hours of the morning. No one from the Pride's around except for Sarah, who stands up when she sees me. She looks tired and stressed out, but when she sees me she smiles. "About time you got back," she chuckles and salutes me.  
"I know," I sigh and wince when her hands accidentally touch a cut on my arm. On my way back I bumped into a couple of unarmed soldiers who apparently either didn't get the message I wasn't to be touched or didn't really care. I managed to outdraw them, but one slashed my arm with a knife before she went down. A couple of others got a few good hits down when I was reloading too. It was the early hours of the morning, I'm not the world's greatest shot when I'm tired and it's pitch black.  
"You'll need to get that looked at," she nods.  
"I will in a second. Are they here?"  
Sarah smiles and nods at the beds.

I walk in hurriedly and see Amata fast asleep with Charlie asleep on the bunk bed beside her, in Kodiak's bed I think. I smile and crouch down beside her and very gingerly touch her cheek. She sighs a little bit and shifts a bit by rolling her shoulders and leaning against my hand.  
"Hey beautiful," I smile and kiss her forehead.  
"She's been awake for ages," Sarah nods, "She doesn't know about your leg yet, or the fact that you're home. I made up an excuse as to why I was staying up, which was easy considering the circumstances."  
"I'll let her rest," I smile and brush her cheek bone with my thumb, "Knowing her, she won't be able to sleep once she knows I'm awake."  
"C'mon then kid, we'll take you to the clinic."

…

"What the _hell_is wrong with these people?!" Dad roars as Li puts ice on the cut over my eyebrow and lips. "Do they have a vendetta against us?!"  
"Yes Dad, a massive military organization has an agenda to destroy the Daniels family," I sigh irritably and hold the ice on my lip in place. Li starts to stitch up a cut on my arm and I scrunch my eyes a little to try and hold back the pain.  
"Are you alright, sweetheart?" he asks, suddenly changing his tone from anger to worry.  
"I'll live," I shrug, "I've been through worse."  
"Hold still," Li sighs as she puts a bandage around my eye. I can kind of see out of it now, just faint little wisps of light. Li examined it and found no permanent damage, so she just bandaged it. I grunt a bit and sigh to myself when the bandages itch around my face, "Goddamit."  
"You're lucky to be alive, at the moment," Dad grunts. "What information did you get on the purifier?"  
"I got something," I snap back irritably. "I have their agenda in a satchel back in the Den."  
"Seriously?"  
"Yeah. Just- whatever you do, please don't tell Amata about how I got hurt. Just say I fell out of a window or something."  
"Uh huh," Dad nods.  
"Stay here for the night," Li sighs. "If you eye starts to bleed we'll be able to tell and give you proper treatment."  
"Sure," I nod and lie down on the bed she gives me. She leaves after kissing Dad's cheek and I scratch at my bandages.  
"Don't scratch," Dad tuts and taps my wrist.  
"It itches," I mutter.  
"It'll stop soon. Get some rest, sweetheart."

I wake up at around 2AM to the sound of a door loudly creaking open. I look up and see Amata walking into the room. She looks blankly at me for a few seconds, before walking over to me, "Are you going to live?"  
I chuckle and nod as I sit up, "Yeah, sweetheart. I'm gonna be-"  
Before I can finish my sentence, Amata raises her hand and slaps me hard across the face, so hard the crack could be heard across the room and probably down the hall. A powerful sting follows shortly after, and I put a hand over my cheek to somehow numb the pain.  
"… OW!" I howl, "What the fuck was that for?!"  
"Why didn't you tell me that you were in the goddamn Lyons' Pride!" she shouts at me.  
"Because I was scared that you were gonna slap me in the goddamn face!"  
"Well crap! I wonder why!" she snaps sarcastically. "Jesus _Christ,_Winter! What were you thinking?"  
"It's nice to see you too, honey," I sigh.  
"Don't give me that bullshit," she snarls and jabs a finger underneath my nose, "I've spent the last few days hiding in a bunker with our son because you decided to run off and play hero without even consulting me!"  
"You were in the Vault, you hadn't even had Charlie yet!" I argue back. "We needed the money! I'll be fine, I'm good at what I do!"  
"That's up for debate," Dusk mumbles as she leans against the wall.  
"Not now Dusk!" I sigh. "What do you want?"  
"I came to watch the show. There's been build up for this thing for days!" she smirks.  
"Dusk! Please just- go away…" Amata sighs.  
"I hate you so much," she sighs and kisses me deeply. When she pulls away and sees the smile on my face, she rolls her eyes, "Do not in any way think that you are in the clear, Daniels."  
"Yes ma'am," I smile and stand up. "I love you."  
She sighs and looks at the ground incredulously as she leans against the wall, "Uh huh."  
"'Uh huh'? That's all you've gotta say?" I smirk.  
She looks up at me with a cold expression.  
"Aw come on, hon," I walk up to her and wrap my arms around her back so her forehead rests against my shoulder, "you and I both know that I've survived worse."  
She looks up at me and shakes her head, "Why did I fall in love with you? You're going to kill me, Winter Daniels."  
"Not if you kill me first, beautiful," I smile and softly kiss her cheek. "You wanna see something really cool?"  
"I really don't want to see you injuries, honey," she sighs.  
I'm amazed she didn't notice when I walked towards her, but I don't mind.  
"Check this out," I grin and lift up my pant leg, "new prosthesis."  
"Bullshit." She gasps when I move my right big toe, "What the fuck?!"  
I laugh when she pulls me into a tight hug.  
"I am still so mad at you," she whispers into my ear, "but goddamn I'm so happy right now… and I'm having trouble not laughing at you right now. You look like a pirate."  
I roll my eyes and she grips my hand, "Come on. You're coming with me."  
"Where?" I grin.  
"Don't get giddy, you've been given the all clear and you've been discharged. We're going back to the barracks."  
Amata and I walk back to the barracks and I lie down on my bunk. Without a word she lies down beside me so her back is pressed against my front.  
"I thought you were mad at me?" I smile as I put an arm around her and rest my head against the back of her shoulder.  
"It doesn't mean I haven't missed you," she sighs and pulls the blanket over us. "Go to sleep, honey."  
"No problem," I smile and kiss her shoulder.

…

November 18th

I wake up and roll onto my side, smiling when I see Amata curled up against me. When I move my hand to hold hers she looks up at me with wide awake eyes.  
"Hey," I yawn and smile drowsily at her. "How long've you been awake?"  
"Around a half hour," she mumbles and buries her face against my tricep. I feel something warm wriggling around to my left and I look and see Charlie asleep beside me.  
"I thought we weren't letting him sleep with us? You said it wasn't safe."  
"I woke up and settled him, I couldn't wake you up. If you rolled over, which you never do, I would kick you off the bed."  
I smile and pick Charlie up and put him on my stomach, "Hey little man."  
Amata gets up and gets dressed.  
"Where are you going?" I frown.  
"I'm going to go check on Dogmeat," she smiles, "can you watch him for a while?"  
"Of course," I whisper and smile at her. "Love you, be safe."  
"I love you too," she kisses me, before reluctantly breaking away, getting up and leaving.

I carry Charlie to the Lyons' Den main room and put him down on the eating table on top of a few blankets and give him a bottle.  
"There we go," I smile when he eventually settles in my arms and starts drinking, "good man."  
"So you survived?" Kodiak smirks as he walks in, dressed only in a shirt and shorts with sweat pouring down his body.  
"Goddamn Kodiak, take a damn shower," I sigh. "Charlie smells better than you."  
He chuckles, "Don't think that I'm not going to keep training you, kid."  
"Yessir," I smirk.  
He comes back from his shower and dumps a pile of papers on the table.  
"What's this?" I frown and flip through them while holding Charlie in one arm.  
"Discharge papers," he sighs. "People who are injured in the line of duty more than twice get to be discharged."  
"What?" I frown, "Seriously?"  
"Uh huh. Just sign this and you'll be on your way."  
"But I don't want to be discharged. I'm fine. I can still fight," I frown.  
"Well… You don't have to… but…."  
"Good, I don't want to leave, not yet."  
"Come on, Winter, just sign the damn thing. Amata and Charlie don't need this?"  
"You don't have a family?"  
"I don't. Dusk has a few brothers and sisters and parents, but she doesn't have a wife and kid to look after like you do."  
"Dusk is gay?" I frown.  
"I dunno… Probably not," he shrugs, "but that isn't the point. Come on Daniels, this job's meant for people who don't have much to lose."  
"I want to keep going," I say firmly and push the papers away from me and hold Charlie. "I'm not standing by and letting those mother fuckers win knowing I could have done something."  
"Amata won't like this," he says. "Winter, come on. The most important thing here is making sure your family is safe."  
"I'm doing this for them," I say firmly and tighten my arms around Charlie. "I won't let Charlie have the childhood that the other kids have."  
"Then be alive to help Amata raise him," he pushes the papers back at me. "Winter, you don't need to prove anything."  
"Piss off with that crap, Kodiak," I sigh. "I'm not leaving the BoS while this war is still going on and my family's still in potential danger."  
He sighs and goes into his bag and tosses something blue and grey at me. I catch it with one hand, "What's this?"  
"It _was_going to be your going away present, but I suppose you can get it dirty now."

I walk back into our bedroom and lay Charlie down. I pick it up and grin. It's a jacket, a modified version of my old MP's jacket. It has Daniels stitched onto the left breast just above a few pockets, with the Lyons Pride insignia on my right tricep and breast. The material feels a little rougher, but Kodiak walks in, "It's got a stab proof material, it can help you absorb some bullet force too."  
"This is awesome," I grin and gently place Char back down and put the jacket on, it fits really like a goddamn glove. "Thanks a heap."  
"Thank Dusk, she designed it."  
I button up the front as Kodiak walks over and puts a hand on Charlie's belly when he starts squirming, "He's gonna be a great little soldier one day."  
I laugh and pick him up, "Amata would never let him, she has enough problems with me being here."  
"My ears are burning," Amata sighs, walking in as Dogmeat comes bounding in.  
"Hey," I smile and peck her lips.  
"Dogmeat's getting trained to be an attack dog." She smiles and looks down at my jacket, "What's this?"  
"A gift," Kodiak says before I can even open my mouth, "for not yapping during her trap during her 'visit'."  
"It looks nice." She smiles and brushes her finger along the Daniels patch and whispers into my ear, "I need to talk to you… privately."  
"Oh," I frown, "what did I do?"  
"I'll tell you in a second," she rolls her eyes and hoists Charlie up.  
"I'm gonna go deal with some initiates…" Kodiak says awkwardly as he gets up and leaves.

Amata and I walk down into the barracks and I sit down opposite her on the bunk.  
"This reminds me of that time we had that hideout in that spare bunker room when we were… kids…" I trail off when I see her stressed expression. "What's wrong?"  
"I need to ask you something, and you have to be totally honest with me, okay?"  
"Okay," I frown as she grips my hand firmly.  
"Who is Matthew?"


	13. Chapter 13

Matthew. Damn, I had almost forgotten about him. A small pang of guilt hits me when I realise I hadn't really thought about my mother either. My brother and my mother were people that I never really got to know, I don't even remember his face from the photo Dad showed me. I was busy and barely had time to even think about anything else except for Dad, Amata, Charlie and the Pride. And how the hell does Amata know about him?  
"How do you know about Matthew?" I frown.  
"Your Dad mentioned that you knew someone before coming into the Vault. The only name I managed to squeeze out of Li when I was waiting to see you was Matthew, but she said that I should talk about it with you."  
I sigh and run a hand through my hair and look down, "Dammit Dad."  
Of course my father had to tell her, why wouldn't he? To put me in a horrible conversation that would result in Amata unintentionally making me feel worse about it then I did before.  
"Winter," I feel Amata's thumbs brush against my palms, "Honey, you know that you can tell me anything."  
I don't want to tell her, though. I'd almost completely forgotten about him until today. I was too busy freaking out about keeping Amata safe and fighting for the Pride to even have a moment to think about my dead family members. I should have talked about it with Dad more when I found out, established some guidelines regarding the subject. Like… I don't know, not telling your daughter's wife who just had a baby?  
"Matthew was my brother," I don't even bother trying to ease her into it, I'm both too tired and stressed at the moment to be gentle.  
"Brother? You never told me you had a brother." Amata's voice is drowning in disbelief, caught off guard at the sudden revelation or thinking I'm just lying, I have no idea.  
"Because I didn't know," I sigh irritably, "I only found out the day I found out about Charlie. Matthew died when I was a baby, with my mum."  
"Oh my god," she whispers and cups the side of my face, "Winter I am so, so sorry."  
"Sweetheart it's fine, I haven't had a lot of time to think about it. As sad as it is, I'll probably just ignore it." I grab her gently by her wrists and try to stand up.  
Amata grabs me by my hands and holds me down gently, "Ignore it? Winter for the love of god! I think about my mother every single day! No matter how stressed out I am I always think about her and whether or not she'd be proud of me and bullshit like that. I refuse to believe that you don't think about them."  
"Bullshit, if your mother isn't proud of you than she has insanely high standards." I sigh, "I feel really bad about it, but I can't invest time into thinking about people who I can't even see or talk to. I have to think about you and Charlie, you guys are my family, and you're tangled up in this stupid fucking war."  
Amata wraps her arms around the back of my neck and rests the side of her head against my collar bone and sighs exasperatingly, "Oh Winter…"  
"Don't," I sigh and try to push her off of me.  
"You know I love you, right?"  
"Don't do this," I beg in an emotionally drained tone, lying back on the bed in a half-hearted attempt to get her off of me, she only follows me.  
"You can't bottle up your emotions like this. I worry that you're gonna explode one day and have a nervous breakdown." she straddles my waist and accidentally drives her kneecap into my right thigh, where she'd usually put her left leg when my right leg was absent.  
"Ow," I groan.  
She chuckles softly and positions her leg so it rests beside my thigh, "I can't believe this is real. I simply can't believe it."  
I sigh and my hands go limp and Amata lies down beside me and slips an arm over me. I close my eyes and allow myself to be lost in the warmth Amata's body brings to mine. We both lie in silence for a few moments. My body feels beaten and I'm emotionally drained. I need to sleep, I need to spend a few days relaxing, but I know that can never happen. I'm needed by the Pride, and I'm more than happy to oblige. I look over at Amata and see her eyes are scrunched tight and her fist is balled against the fabric of my jacket.  
"Amata?"  
The only movement coming from her is her breathing softly, before she looks up at me with worried eyes, "We need to talk more, just the two of us."  
I groan and look up at the ceiling, "I'd much rather do something else with you but by ourselves."  
"Get your head out of the gutter," she sighs and strokes my cheek, "I'm being serious. I worry about you, honey."  
"I'm fine," I say softly and turn my head to look at her, "Are you still mad at me?"  
"Oh yeah," she nods rapidly, "You're in trouble, Daniels."  
"Seriously?" I frown.  
"We haven't even had a proper talk about this yet." She says calmly and hops off of me, "We'll have a talk later."  
"Are you two done being all lovey dovey yet?" He sighs,"Winter, we need you to have a look at some of the intelligencewe picked up."  
Amata looks up at me and I sigh, "Sure."

Kodiak guides me down lower into the Citadel almost without saying a word. The lower we move down the levels, I start to see soldiers being replaced by officers and busy looking scientists, all of them looking stressed and jolting in their movements. Kodiak and I turn around a hallway and walk to a doorway

"What am I looking at?" I walk into the room and see Lyons and Dusk hunched over a swarm of papers.  
"Plans for Enclave hospitals," Lyons frowns, "Materials required, time for construction, patient capacity, everything. Graphs detailing recruitment numbers, that sort of thing."  
"So, essentially they're telling us… what?"  
"Their recruitment numbers are less than ours, but they're on the rise."  
"Then why would they show us this?"  
"For intimidation," Dusk says firmly, "The Enclave are big on showing their tech and their strong soldiers to citizens in occupied territories or in recruiting stations. They do it so people can think that they're joining the winning team."  
"So what are we going to do?" I ask as I sit down and pick up a medical supply inventory sheet. Smug bastards.  
"Well, what do you think?"  
"What are we aiming for? Negotiating or fighting?"  
"Fighting," Dusk and Lyons say at the same time, "For all we know this information could be false. Autumn could be leading us on."  
"Brilliant," I mutter, "My vote goes to expanding on recruitment."  
"That's what I was thinking. We've already increased recruiting stations and privileges on recruitment."  
I nod, "That Christmas recruitment thing they launched doubled their recruitment numbers. Plain old 'join us and shoot some mutants' just doesn't cut it for us anymore."  
Sarah sighs and nods, "Look, I need you to go home and think of something to help recruitment numbers. You were raised in the Vault, you have an education that goes beyond how to survive. Just jot down some notes as they come to you, alright?"  
I nod, "I'll think about it. But… actually… if you want knowledge, I'd recommend speaking to Amata. She eats this reading shit up."

…

Two hours later

I reluctantly slip into the shower in one of the private rooms in the hospital that Dad let me into. For the past few hours Kodiak has been drilling me with unrelenting drills. He had me running, jumping and vaulting over a homemade obstacle course. After having me jump, pull myself up, and run over 5 miles, Kodiak made me fight him. He beat my ass. I stumble out of the training session with bruises and already tightening muscles. I start to wash my hair when I feel warm arms slip around me.  
"'Mata?" I frown and look over my shoulder.  
"I'm sorry," she sighs and rests her head against the back of my shoulder while hugging me firmly, "I don't think I've been off your case all day."  
"I never thought we'd have this conversation in a shower," I smirk and turn towards her.  
Amata's fingers comb through my hair and she softly kisses me. I slip my arms around her back and smile as she strokes my cheek.  
"No matter how much you absolutely drive me crazy to my boiling point, and how angry I get at you because of it," she smiles when I rest my forehead against hers, "know that I love you so much, Winter. And goddamn I missed you so much."  
I feel her gripping my left hand and brushing her thumb along the ring on my finger.  
"How did I ever manage to marry you?" I smile and peck her lips.  
"I don't know either," she smiles and returns to cradling my cheek as I kiss her.  
"Where's the baby?" I mumble against her lips.  
"Li's babysitting him for a few hours."  
"Hours?" I grin.  
"Shut up," she giggles and leans her hand out of the shower door and locks the main door behind her and locks the door to the bathroom behind us.

…

November 22nd

"Come on, Charlie," Dusk groans, "Drink the damn milk."  
"Good to see you're hammering the military hospitality into him early, Dusk," I chuckle as I sip on some warm Brahmin milk.  
"Put on some damn clothes," Dusk snaps as she tilts up the bottle for him.  
I sit down in front of my breakfast wearing only a black tank top and short shorts, "You aren't my boss," I smirk sarcastically with a mouthful of egg in my mouth.  
Lyons looks up at us from her stack of papers and sighs irritably, "Will you two stop whining to each other? Winter, go and put some clothes on."  
I sigh irritably and stand up, walking back to the barracks and smiling when I gaze at her. Amata is still asleep with her back to me. I pull on my jacket and stroke Amata's hair and kiss her cheek.  
"Dusk and Daniels do me a favour," Lyons sighs when I sit down and resume eating, "You guys feel like spending a few days in Downtown DC?"  
"Sure," I shrug, "What's the plan?"  
"You're not depressed about not being able to be locked in a room with Amata for a few days?" Dusk mumbles. Much to Dusk's teasing delight, Amata and I had gotten… reacquainted with each other over the past few days. Our lack of an "official"honeymoon kind of fuelled our giddiness. We usually managed to find some excuse and somewhere to lock ourselves away for a few hours. Li absolutely adores Charlie and we made a few excuses about the both of us being busy (Strictly speaking true, what with me pouring over Enclave intel every spare second I got). However, we weren't discrete enough, because after I had returned to the Den with mused hair Dusk couldn't resist making a few jabs at me. Not that it stopped us.  
"Well someone needs to make sure that you don't get yourself killed," I mutter, subconsciously rubbing my right eye. Sight had fully come back to it a few days ago, but I still lie awake at night touching it and wondering if it'll black out again. I'd popped a few mutants from around 100 metres away with a sniper rifle yesterday and I was relatively fine.  
"It's funny when the newborn baby is less of a pain than you two," Lyons sighs as Dusk puts Charlie back into my arms, "You two are going to be covering our guys as they clear out some buildings in DC we can use as safe houses for casualties."  
"Hospitals?"  
"Strictly speaking, no. It'll be more like a hotel, of sorts." Sarah lays out a map and points to a few buildings with Daniels and Dusk written on them, "Beds, food, medical supplies for fixing minor gunshot wounds, that sort of thing. You two will be on duty for around three days in a crows nest here," she points at a building roughly in the middle of where the buildings with our names are located, "You'll literally set up camp there for a few days, we'll be in frequent radio contact, that's a promise. Your job's to essentially cover them and inform them of any shit that's headed their way. You run low on anything; we'll have a vertibird give you a supply drop. If you guys want, you can bring a supply buddy with you."  
"We need to think up a better term for that," I sigh, "When do we leave?"  
"Tonight, preferably. Say your goodbyes and be ready to get on your vertibird by eight."

"Hey little man," I smile when I look down and see Char looking up at me as I walk toward the barracks. I haven't spent much time with Charlie, at all actually. The kid needs attention from me if I'm going to be known to him as… fuck… what do I call myself? I suppose he'll just call me Winter, but I want to be close to him in a way that he'd see me as a parent, if that makes sense? He's almost three months old, and so far the only real time I've spent alone with him is at midnight either changing or feeding him. I can't play with him, he's too little. I look down and see Dogmeat brushing against the side of my leg and look up at me, mouth wide open and tongue sticking out. I need to get my gear ready before I forget to, maybe then I can think of something Char and I can do together.  
"Do me a favour big guy," I sigh and sit down on the bed and gently lay Charlie down on the makeshift crib beside Amata. I point to the crib and say "guard". "Guard" was one of the first commands Washington taught him, and within a second of me saying it Dogmeat's ass is firmly parked in front of the crib, back straight, eyes directly ahead at the doorway, somehow looking intimidating and happy at the same time.  
"Good boy," I grin and ruffle his fur, "Good boy."  
I hear a sharp intake of breath and Amata jolts up.  
"Mornin' beautiful," I smile, "What's up?"  
"What time is it?" she asks urgently.  
"Slow down. It's around 7:30."  
"Shit!" she swears and jumps up out of bed.  
"What could you possibly have to do this early?" I chuckle in amusement as she jumps up and gets dressed.  
"Books," she exhales and looks around, "Where the hell are my shoes?"  
"Books?" I raise my eyebrows, "Amata, are you awake? We aren't in the Vault anymore, sweetheart."  
"Yes Winter I am awake!" she snaps and finds one boot, jumping into it and rifling through our blankets to try and find the other, "Some bitch in the archives is holding a meeting at 8 this morning about removing Enclave related content from the archives. I'm gonna go and use your last name as a tool to try and maybe at least reduce the damage and… are you paying attention?"  
"Books," I shrug and nod with a "I have to support you don't I?" kind of look I've had since she started talking.  
"Look, can you watch Charlie for an hour?"  
"Oh, I was going to-"  
"Winter, this is important."  
"It's a pile of books, Amata," I groan, "I have to-"  
"Winter!" she snaps as she stands up, tying the final shoelace.  
"…Sure."  
"Thank you," she pecks my lips, "I love you."  
"Love you," I rub my forehead with my thumb and forefinger and close my eyes in annoyance as she kisses Charlie goodbye.  
"I need to talk to you when we're done!" I call after her as she walks out of the den.

…

Amata had returned from the meeting in a relatively good mood. She said something along the lines of "holding the bitch back for a while" and started playing with Dogmeat for a few minutes, before I managed to sit her down.  
"We'll be fine, honey," I sigh as I start to pack some extra sets of clothes. Amata paces back and forth on the floor anxiously.  
"I thought you weren't going to be going out there for a while…" she sighs and runs a hand through her hair.  
"But look," I smile and put a mobile radio on the table, "It's programmed to my frequency. I'll be able to contact you everyday; you and I are the only ones who have this frequency so you won't have to worry about us being listened to."  
She looks down at the radio and sighs, shaking her head, "You don't get it. I want you home."  
I groan and push the radio towards her, "Just take it, I promise I'll contact you."  
She takes the radio and shakes her head at it.  
"I'll be back in a few days."  
"Fine," she sighs and I hug her.  
"I love you," I kiss her cheek.  
"You too," she lifts her head and kisses me softly, "Where are you going? I swear to god you are the poster child for ADD."  
"To get my stuff ready," I look over my shoulder at her as I walk out, but suddenly I stop dead. Poster… I whirl around and look at Amata, who looks back at me with a puzzled look on her face.  
"You said that the bitch planning to ban the books got delayed?" I say urgently and grip her by her shoulders.  
"Yeah… why?" she frowns, seriously confused.  
"So all the books are in there, then?"  
"I guess."  
I laugh and pull her towards me and kiss her with everything I have, "I fucking love you."  
"What? Why? I… Winter…?" she splutters as I break away from her.  
"You and your stubbornness are so fucking beautiful," I grin and grab her by the hand, "Get Li to baby sit Charlie."  
"What? Winter now isn't the time for-"  
"No, this is something else. Meet me in the library as soon as you can."

I run into the library and run to the computer. I look up "World War Two" and before I know it I have a stack of books on the desk.  
"What the hell are you doing? Of course at age 22 you start studying," she says bitterly and sits down, "I'm sick of Li and James thinking we're constantly locking ourselves in a closet somewhere."  
"I promise I will never pester you for sex for a week if you help me with this, and I will decline doing volunteer tasks for two months."  
Instantly her ass is parked on the chair beside me, "You had me at not pestering me for sex."  
I roll my eyes at her and push a book in front of her, "War Propaganda."  
"What about it?"  
"We need to increase recruitment numbers." I grin and open a book, "Remember when we learnt about World War Two in school? The Allies used posters to help recruitment and advertised War Bonds to put more money into production."  
"Yes I remember," she frowns and flicks through the pages, "I see where you're going with this."  
"Amata," I turn to her and grip her hands lightly, "I know what this looks like. I know that you might not want to do this, but I won't be able to go through all of these books while I'm in DC, I'm pretty sure Dusk can't read and Lyons is busy with sorting out the troops. Can you please help me, honey?"  
She giggles and kisses me, "You're asking me to read. Absolutely."  
I kiss her back and peck her cheek when I break away, "Thank you. I promise I'll make it up to you."  
"Be safe, OK?" she says firmly and kisses me again, "I don't want that new leg to be ruined."  
"I love you too," I chuckle and kiss her forehead as I stand up, "You have no idea how much this is helping me out, honey. Lyons would have made me…"  
"Winter! It's fine," she laughs, "Just get home safe."  
"I will. I'm gonna go get my stuff ready now."

…

"I was born on the goddamn floor," Ali grumbles miserably as we start to take off on the vertibird. I'm leaning against my seat, dressed in my new Lyons Pride jacket that I wear with pride with a baby book in my hands.  
"What?!" Dusk says loudly, "Where the fuck did that come from?!"  
"Daniels is reading a baby book," she points at me, "I thought I would share."  
I ignore the both of them as they talk and skim through the book. Goddammit I wish these things would be simple. Just a chapter, titled "How to bond with the child that was fathered by the man who raped your wife and who you also brutally murdered in a fit of rage", but one can only be so lucky.  
"How the hell were you born on the floor?! I thought you were a Citadel grunt?" Dusk grins at her.  
"I was," Ali says and straightens up in her seat, "I couldn't wait until Mom was comfortable, I guess. The Citadel was mostly empty at that point; we didn't want to waste a cot. Blankets seemed to do because the infirmary was too far away."  
"Daniels, how long was Amata in labour?" Dusk chuckles.  
"Too long," I grumble and turn the page, my face still looking down at the book.  
"I'm serious, how long?"  
I look away and exhale, looking up at the ceiling as I think, "Um… best guess…? Around 14 hours."  
"Jesus Christ," Dusk laughs, "Either you mother couldn't take a hint, or you're on impatient bitch, Nichols."  
"Fuck off, Dusk," Ali flips her off, then turns to me, "Why are you reading that?"  
"Because I need to think of ways that I can get Charlie to like me."  
"Why's that? You are aware that he is a baby?"  
"Because I need to establish a good, solid bond before he starts asking what happened to Daddy."  
"Ah." Dusk nods slowly, "What've you come up with?"  
"I've got nothing. I think I'll rely on telling him funny stories and acting like a show off around him, hopefully that will work."  
"What's with the other stuff?" Ali frowns at the bag I stuffed withWW2 books I split with Amata.  
"Long story. The short of it is that Amata and I are working on some old school recruitment tactics."  
"By reading?"  
"Yes Dusk, by reading," I sigh and roll my eyes.  
"So while I'm doing my shift you're going to be reading 200 year old books?"  
"And sleeping, and talking to Amata."

We touch down at the DC drop point at around 8:30. It's dark, but visibility is still decent. Ali looks around and holds her bag tightly. I hold up my Pip-Boy and look at the map, tapping at the map curiously when it scrolls out.  
"That's our building," I point at a small square on the map and point to a building barely half a mile away.  
Ali groans and I turn over to her, "Just stick close to me, Ali. We'll be fine."  
The three of us jog around winding alleys and apartment blocks, our ears straining to hear anything around us. Half way there, I hear a small scuttling along an alleyway, along with a hard thump.  
"… What was that?" Ali asks.  
Dusk hands me a flashlight and I shine it into the alleyway. I shine it up and perfectly show the face of a seriously pissed off Super Mutant around 50 metres from us.  
"Shit," I gasp in fright, then turn around, "Don't fire, he doesn't have a gun."  
"What kind of logic is that?!" Ali shouts urgently as I rip out my hunting knife. I grab Ali and position her nicely in the middle of the alleyway entrance, and she freaks out.  
"What the hell are you doing?!" she squeaks.  
"Serving up dinner," I smile, "Relax, you'll be fine."  
I lean against the wall beside the alley, listening as the footsteps grow louder and louder. Ali turns around and starts to run. When I hear the ragged breathing of the mutant growing closer, I simply stick my foot out. The mutant trips over my foot and slams face first onto the pavement, and barely a second after he hits the ground I run to him, put my foot on his back, and slide the knife noiselessly into his head. Ali stands a few metres behind Dusk, panting hard as I take the knife out.  
"Nice," Dusk nods, "Keep it simple."  
"You alright, Ali?" I smile at her as I wipe the blood off the knife using the mutant's pants.  
"What the hell?!" she whispers loudly, "Why did you do that?!"  
I smile at her, "I handled it. I wasn't going to do that if I thought that you were gonna get hurt."  
"I had my gun in case something went wrong," Dusk smiles and holds up her handgun, "Funny idea though, Daniels."  
I do a sarcastic bow and start walking towards the building.  
"That really wasn't cool," Ali says bitterly as she walks behind me.  
I look over my shoulder and look at her sincerely, "I'm sorry; I promise I won't do it again."  
"Harden up, Nichols," Dusk chuckles, "The guy didn't even have a gun."  
"I almost shit my goddamn pants," she snaps.

We reach out building mostly in silence after that. We climb up the stairs to every floor, thoroughly checking each room for unexpected guests; we don't find anything except for a starving mole rat.  
"Poor little guy," Dusk sighs and casually tosses him a small slice of bread, before shutting the door to the room.  
We climb up some debris and reach the top floor. I drop my bag and stretch out. Someone operating in the DC area had already knocked a neat little hole for us to be able to aim a rifle out of without us being exposed.  
Dusk digs into her bag and brings out a box and a coil of string. The box makes a large clunk when she places it on the ground, and when she opens the lid, I stare at 20 frag grenades.  
"Jesus Christ," I mutter as I pick one up, "What're we doing with these?"  
"We're booby trapping the place," she says simply, "In case we're compromised, we'll have something to fall back on while we get ready."  
I nod and look at Ali, "Ali… you mind staying here and setting up camp?"  
"I'd much rather to that than run around with explosives," she sighs and starts to set everything up.  
"I'll try not to get blown up," I smile.

Dusk and I make our way back down to the building and Dusk begins to set up a trip wire at the front door. She looks up and nods at an old ceiling fan, "You need to set this thing up over the ceiling fan."  
"Seriously?" I sigh as I tie a tight knot around the pin on the grenade, "I can't reach that."  
"I'll boost you up," she nods and looks up at the fan, "Just don't fall, that won't end well for either one of us."  
"Uh huh," I nod as I put one foot on her shoulder. She boosts me up and I support myself using the blade on the fan.  
"Don't fucking move!" I squeak desperately when she shifts.  
"I'm compensating for the one hundred pounds that just climbed on top of me!" she grunts, "any day now, Daniels!"  
"Fuck off, Dusk," I snap hysterically as I try not to blow myself up.  
"Don't piss your pants, Daniels," she chuckles as I position the grenade properly. I drop down and look up at the grenade, hiding snugly on the ceiling blade.  
"Alright, one down, ten to go."  
"Four?!" I wince.  
"Grow a pair," Dusk grins, "Come on."

After a hour of booby trapping and mapping out an emergency exit to the building, I walk up to the top floor and see Ali already has sorted out ammo, set up sleeping bags and is fast asleep in her sleeping bag, clutching a pistol on her hand with the safety on. I take it away from her and collapse into bed, already exhausted.

* * *

**Hey guys,thanks for reading. In case you didn't know. I've started another Fanfic! Check it out. I'll still be updating this story, don't worry! have a good one **


	14. Chapter 14

November 23rd

I wake up something stinging my cheek. I open my eyes and see Dusk lightly slapping the side of my face with an elated expression, "Come on, rise and shine, Daniels."  
I yawn and sit up, "Wha…?"  
"Come on, duty calls."  
I squirm out of my sleeping bag and see Ali flipping through my books.  
"Morning, Al," I yawn and rub my eyes tiredly. She nods at me and I look at a small campfire that Dusk must have set up during the night. The hole does more than enough to filter out the smoke, and I use the fire to heat up some coffee.  
"Your radio's been making muffling noises all morning, by the way," Ali points at my bag.  
"Ah shit!" I gasp and dive for it, "I forgot to radio Amata!"  
I unzip my bag and grab my radio.  
"Half an hour until we're in action," Dusk calls after me as I walk out of the room.  
"Amata?" I frown.  
"Oh thank god," her response is almost instantaneous, and she sounds almost hysterical, "I've been trying to reach you since six this morning! I thought something happened!"  
"I'm sorry baby, I was just so tired last night I completely forgot," I sigh, kicking myself as I run a hand through my hair, "I promise, I'll fall asleep tonight with my radio in my hand."  
"Are you OK?" she asks urgently.  
"I'm absolutely fine," I nod, even though she can't see me.  
"I miss you," she sighs.  
"I miss you too, hon," I almost whisper. Even though she sounds completely stressed out, I still adore hearing her voice.  
"Ugh! God you're an idiot! Listen, Lyons told me that you're going to be fighting today. Promise me that you'll contact me in an hour, alright?"  
"You have my word. I'm away from the action though, honey, and I'm with Dusk, I'll be fine."  
I hear her sighing, then Charlie crying in the background, "I've gotta go, alright? Be safe."  
"I will. I love you."  
"You too."

I walk in and see Dusk preparing our rifles, she glances over her shoulder and smiles at me, "Trouble in paradise?"  
"Fuck off," I groan and crouch down beside her and prepare my rifle, "What are we doing?"  
She points at a small building with a small collection of BoS soldiers outside, "You cover the entrance to the building, I cover the inside. Sound good?"  
"Sounds to me like you're making me do most of the work," I mutter. The front of the building is a clear spot for people to sneak up behind them, and requires the most accuracy.  
"I'm not saying anything," Dusk smirks and ruffles my hair, "You'll do fine, kid. You can do this."  
"Crows nest, come in," someone crackles through the radio sitting beside Dusk.  
"Crows nest reporting, what's your status Big Bad Wolf?"  
I giggle and look away from my scope, "Big Bad Wolf?"  
"They're gonna huff and puff," she rolls her eyes at me as the… ugh… "Big Bad Wolf" squad leader reports that they're ready to enter the building. The door is opened and they scurry in. Ali crouches down behind us, a small pile of clips beside her to hand us the second we run dry. Beside me lies a submachine gun in case we come under heavy fire. I peer down my scope, keeping my eyes trained on any slight movement on the ground. I trust Dusk to cover her own area, if I look away for even a second, something could slip past. My fingers curl around against the gun, my finger resting away from the trigger. I hear a shot ring out inside the building, but it doesn't phase me. It phases, Dusk, and I can almost feel her frowning into her scope. "All clear in this room," a BOS soldier says, confirming that they were fine. The shot probably rung out for miles, it's quiet today, as it always is in Downtown DC. Any shot you fire you risk something crawling out of the shadows and hunting for the noise, be it raiders or even rabid dogs.  
"Eyes forward, Daniels," Dusk almost mumbles when I wipe a bead of sweat off my forehead.  
"It's goddamned hot," I mutter and lick my lips. I'm sweltering from a strength sapping combination of the fire trapping heat into the room and the sun shining through the small hole Dusk and I are standing in front of. The metal on my barrel gets hot, and my fingers start to get hot.  
"First floor's clear," someone says through the radio.  
I frown and look at a small little shadow walking along the street.  
"Hello…" I frown and narrow the shadow into my sights, "What are you up to…?"  
The shadow turns out to be a couple of traders, accompanied by a pack Brahmin. This is goddamned suspicious. Traders don't move through downtown DC unless you feel like a gunfight. Traders tend to cut along the western side of DC, going around the Jefferson Memorial and moving into either Rivet City or BOS guarded areas. The traders consist of one merchant and three mercenaries, all of them well armed and have a confident air about them.  
"We've got four civilians on the street," I frown and nudge Dusk.  
"Shit," she sighs, "Um… alright let them pass."  
"Obviously," I nod, but keep my scope on them.  
Suddenly, they stop and have a look around, a very dangerous thing to do. The squad in the building hasn't made a peep, and as far as I can tell there isn't anything around us quite yet. In one quick, jerking motion, the merchant lifts up his head and grins at us, "Hello!"  
Dusk swears and I push her to my right and stick my head out of the hole, "Yeah, hey. Listen, you can't be here right now."  
The merchant chuckles and looks around, shrugging his shoulders submissively at the quiet around us, "Why not?"  
"This is a BOS operation," I say with as a polite tone as possible, "Could you _please _clear the area in the case of emergency?"  
He laughs as one of his female bodyguards stands closer to him, "Little lady, we can handle ourselves."  
"Well go handle yourselves somewhere else!" Ali shouts, sticking her head out of the hole beside me.  
"Ali!" I snap and look behind her, "Shut up!"  
The merchant chuckles again, "My apologies, little lady. You don't look like BoS. Is it just the three of you in there? You look like you could use some supplies."  
I roll my eyes, "Look. We don't want any of what you're selling. So… essentially, go the fuck away."  
He chuckles and takes a step towards us, "Well that ain't very nice, now is it?"  
I stare him down and look behind my shoulder, "Ali get back."  
"Why?" she frowns.  
"Listen, mister," I say calmly, "There's a squad of BoS in there, any funny business and they're charging down there to kick your asses, assuming that we haven't taken care of you first."  
"What happened to a little kindness? All I'm trying to do is offer you guys a little something. It's a little hot today, no? We've got water."  
"Daniels, point the fucking gun at-"  
My gun is already on him, "Listen, man. I was really hoping on not having to shoot anybody today. It's hot, the three of us are tired and want to go home as soon as we're done here. If you wanna shoot at us, fine, but trust me in the knowledge that you won't walk out of here alive if you do. None of us want the bloodshed, alright?"  
The merchant's smile is gone from his face, and I return his cold expression. Suddenly, I hear a scream and an explosion.  
"Oh no." the merchant gasps.  
"Oh _fuck_," I gasp and look at Ali, "The grenades!"  
"Get on the ground!" Dusk shouts and points her gun at them, "Get on the fucking ground right now!"  
There was something that hit me when he walked up to me. The little teddy bear I could just make out on his Brahmin pack. The wedding band on his finger, the female standing closer to him, the pale look on both of their faces as they hear the scream and the explosion, it all sparks an idea.  
Within a second I'm sprinting down the staircase, leaping over the tripwires as Dusk shouts for me to get my ass back to our camp. My lungs are burning and I sprint down the stairs, carrying only my revolver. I jump down the final staircase and sprawl out onto the street when I trip over my boot lace. I quickly recover my footing and spin around. I turn my head and see a little boy standing completely still on the road. His face is covered by dirt and tiny little bits of red cover his body. He got away from the grenade.  
"Oh thank god," I gasp and grab him. The kid can't be more than four years old, with filthy black hair and big, terrified, bright blue eyes. The shrapnel from the grenade hit him in small little places and he starts crying the second I pick him up.  
"Hey," I soothe and hold him protectively, "Easy now, it's OK, it's OK. I've got you, little guy."  
"Let go of him!" the merchant shouts.  
"No!" he wails.  
I hold the kid closer to me, refusing to let him go as his father glares at me.

This isn't unheard of. Sometimes you hear stories of traders distracting small camps of people, especially if they can manage to herd them out to barter with them. The little kids (if they have any in their group) can slip in easily and snatch a few weapons, maybe some ammo or food or drugs and run out before they're seen. Even if they do get caught, they're kids, what're you going to do? Shoot them? I hate these people. Their guns are on the ground, probably from Dusk's instruction, and I hold the kid close to me as his mother charges for me and out of Dusk's line of sight.  
The kid clings onto me and I take a few steps back from her, "Stop!"  
"Get the fuck away from my son!" she screams and thrashes against me.  
"Dusk!" I shout as I do my best to fend her off, "Lady go away! He's hurt! We can help him!"  
"Come here baby, come on!" she shouts at her son. All the kid does is just cling harder onto me. By this time, the squad has come charging down and tackled the merchant onto the ground. I look away for a second and the woman swings a punch and clocks me square in the face. I stumble back a bit and groan, but hold him close to me.  
"Easy, look, we can work this out!" I lie as I feel my bottom lip already starting to swell up, one hand holding him and the other holding onto my gun, "I don't want to hurt you!"  
She growls at me and I point my gun at her, "I don't want to, but I _will _shoot if I have to!"  
She snarls like an animal at me, like any mother would if a complete stranger refused to cling onto her kid. If it was Amata, who loves her son more than anything, I wouldn't hesitate in putting him in her arms and doing everything I could to help the both of them. But the way the kid is clinging onto me, and not begging for his mother like a normal child should, I'm not letting her anywhere near him.  
"Last chance," I say firmly, "Get out of my face!"  
Her eyes are full of fear and I look coldly back at her. I have no sympathy for her; she's putting her son's life in danger when there are so many other ways to survive. All it would take is moving into a settlement, the kid would be fine.  
I keep my gun trained on her.  
"What are you going to do?" she chokes out, eyes brimming with tears that are fuelled by a kind of desperation I hope Amata and I will never have to feel.  
"I'm going to help fix him up," I say firmly, "Then I'll take him back to the Citadel, I'll find a good place for him."  
I shouldn't have said that, that was only more kindling to the fire. A mother who was faced with the horror of losing her child suddenly relies completely on primitive instinct. One hundred and twenty pounds of angry vicious parent smacks into me and sends me crashing onto the ground. I pull the trigger to my revolver and I land on my back, tilting my head up so it doesn't bounce on the ground. The kid lands on top of me; sandwiched between me and his completely still mother. I instantly grab him and roll away from her.  
"Hey," I exhale as I hold him close, "Look at me, OK? Don't look at Mummy, Mummy's fine."  
He buries his face into my shoulder and I move up the stairs to our floor.  
"Ali!" I shout, "Come down here and give me a hand!"  
I hear Ali's footsteps carefully move down the stairs, making sure she doesn't set off any traps.  
"Oh Jesus," she gasps when she sees me and the kid.  
"You need to help me," I cough and turn my head, "Take him upstairs for me, please."  
She readily takes him, my body completely numb as his weight shifts off of me. I feel little stings along my neck, when I reach my hand up to touch them I find they're bleeding; probably the kid's nails digging so hard into my neck they drew blood.

I walk back onto the street, where the merchant is lying on the ground, looking like a man who just got caught with murder. He's lying on his stomach on the ground, his only signs of life coming from his shaking body as two BoS point their guns at him.  
"Does your son have any known, non-shitbag relatives?" I scowl and kick his shoulder so he rolls onto his back.  
"He has an uncle in Nevada," he says frantically.  
"Shit," I sigh.  
"Just… oh god…" he sobs.  
He isn't under any grounds to be arrested or even executed by us, he's just lying there, sobbing like a goddamned child.  
"What do we do about the kid?" a BoS soldier grunts, standing over him and glancing over to me.  
He looks up at me desperately, with teary eyes, "Don't kill me," he begs, "Just don't fucking kill me. Do what you want with him, I don't care!"  
Within a second my boot smashes against his face. Nobody bothers to stop me, or even scold me for it.  
"You son of a bitch," I snarl, "Give me one fucking reason why I shouldn't just kill you now so I can sleep easy at night knowing you won't be able to reproduce."  
He spits out a mouthful of blood and I point my gun at him.  
"Fuck…!" he trembles, "Don't shoot! Please!"  
"Daniels," someone finally speaks up, "Don't shoot him."  
I look down at his pathetic face and reluctantly take the gun off him. He sobs in relief and I holster my gun.  
"I'm going to take this kid away from you. You don't have enough common sense to be a father and he sure as fuck doesn't deserve running around and almost getting blown up doing your dirty work."  
"O…OK…"  
I land a final kick in his stomach and he cries out in pain. I turn around and rip the teddy bear from the Brahmin and rummage through the bags, stripping out all of the kid clothes and very small amounts of toys. I give him one final disgusted look, then take the supplies upstairs.

"What're we going to do?" Dusk sighs as I peer through my binoculars in the surrounding area. We cleared out the building, our day's work is done. The sun is beginning to set over the Downtown DC, we've had no other contact today. We're still staying here for a few more days, and I'm desperate for the kid to get out of here and to somewhere relatively safe. I lied to Amata when I radioed in to her, saying that nothing major happened and that everything was fine. It's beginning to get cold, but Dusk starts a campfire and starts to cook our dinners. I drop my binoculars and walk over to the kid. He's curled up in a ball in my sleeping bag, looking a little blank with his teddy bear in his arms.  
"Hey little guy," I smile and crouch down beside him, "You doing OK?"  
Of course he fucking isn't, what kind of question is that?  
To my surprise, he nods a little.  
"You have a name?" I smile and try to sound as friendly as possible to him, despite how angry I am at his parents and how stressed I am about where I'm going to take him.  
"Aiden…" he mumbles.  
"Aiden?" I smile, "That's a cool name. You hungry Aiden?"  
He nods and whispers, "It's cold."  
"I know. We'll give you some food soon, OK? You have any friends, Aiden? Anybody Mummy and Daddy bring you, like an Uncle or Aunt or Grandma?"  
"Nuh uh," he shakes his head slowly.  
"No friends you play with who have Mums or Dads?"  
He shakes his head again, "I don't want to go back to Mommy and Daddy."  
"You don't have to," I shake my head, surprised that he doesn't know what happened to his mother. He looks scared and alone, can't blame the poor guy, he clutches onto that bear like a vice, though.  
"Stay here, Dusk and Ali will take care of you." I smile and stand up.  
"Don't go," he begs, his voice high pitched and wailing.  
"I'll just be in the next room. I'll be back before you know it."

I grab my radio and turn it on, "Amata? You there?"  
Within five seconds she answers, though she doesn't sound worried, "What's up, Snowflake?"  
I roll my eyes and rub my forehead tiredly, "What are you doing?"  
"Well we're sitting down to dinner," I can hear her smile through the radio, something that catches me off guard, "Sarah gave me some wine to calm my nerves."  
Now it makes sense, "What? You don't drink."  
"I know!" she laughs.  
"… How much wine have you had, Amata?"  
"Not much, I swear, only half a wine glass."  
I sigh and rub my face with one hand tiredly, I'm stressed out already. Amata sounds so happy, even if that's thanks to a little red wine. How am I supposed to tell her I'm bringing a kid home temporarily? I finally think of a good answer.  
"Amata?" I smile, "I have good news."  
"You won the war and we can go back home?"  
"No, I'm coming home early."  
"No way, really?" her voice sounds doubtful.  
"Yeah, I should be home tomorrow."  
"… What's happened, Winter?" her acidic, irritated tone stings me.  
"Lyons, don't give her anything to drink again," I laugh, assuming she can hear me.  
"Look… I found a little kid, he doesn't have any parents and I have to bring him back here to take him to an orphanage."  
There's silence for a few moments, like Amata is processing what I'm saying, before she spits out, "Bullshit."  
"I'm not lying," I groan, "Look, I'm telling you now that I'm coming home, accept it or not, it's up to you, Amata."  
"Why do you sound so cranky?" she giggles.  
"Because I'm stressed out, Amata!" I almost shout, "I'll be home tomorrow morning."  
I shut off my radio and almost throw it against the wall, unsure of why I'm suddenly so pissed off at the woman I'm so rarely pissed off at.

I walk back into the room and sit down by the fire, nursing a cup of coffee beside a resting Aiden. Whenever I turn my head I see him looking cautiously up at me, and I smile kindly back at him. Dusk finishes dinner and I place a Brahmin steak in front of Aiden, "Eat up, kiddo," I smile with faked enthusiasm, "It'll keep you warm."  
He sits up uncertainty and picks at the food with a fork. He nudges the steak with his finger, before grabbing it with both hands and biting out a massive chunk. I laugh as he swallows it, a grubby smile on his face from the juices from the steak.  
"You're hungry, Aiden?" I giggle.  
Dusk smiles and hands him a bowl of noodles. Aiden leans his head down and sniffs at the noodles, "What's this?"  
"Noodles, try them, they taste good, I promise."  
Aiden picks up a couple of noodles with his fingers and sniffs at them for a few seconds. My stomach rumbles as the beautiful aroma creeps up my nose. Dusk hands me a bowl and I snatch a fork from her and take in a mouthful. Aiden watches how I eat and carefully places the noodles in his mouth and chews. I smile at him, but he doesn't smile back. He finishes his noodles, then crawls back into his sleeping bag. Once I'm warm again, I sit down beside Aiden.  
"You OK, big guy?" I smile.  
Aiden doesn't say anything, and I wipe his mouth clean using a clean rag.  
"Go to sleep, kiddo."  
"Will you be here?"  
"Uh huh," I nod.

The next morning I wake up to Dusk snoring loudly in the sleeping bag beside me. Shit!  
My head jumps up and see Ali watching our point with binoculars.  
"Morning, Daniels," Ali smiles kindly, "Vertibird's coming for a supply drop in an hour, you're hopping on that and going back to the Citadel."  
"I'll drop him off and come back," I decide, rubbing the side of my face tiredly.  
"Amata isn't gonna like that," she chuckles, going back to surveying the area.  
"I'll be back this afternoon," I yawn and stand up. I look over at Aiden, who's holding one of my books.  
"What're you up to?" I chuckle and walk up to him. Aiden flinches when I walk up to him. I take a step back and frown, "Easy, kiddo."  
His face lightens slightly and he hands me the book. I look down and see he was looking at a picture of a young American soldier, standing proudly with a gun slung across his shoulder and a confident smile on his face. Aiden points at the picture and looks up at me curiously, "Soldiers?"  
I nod at him, "From a long time ago, yeah."  
"Good soldiers?"  
I nod again. He seems satisfied with my answer and points at his stomach, "I'm hungry."

After I cook Aiden breakfast consisting of tough mole rat meat and some bread, I lean against the wall of the building and wait for the vertibird to come and pick us up. I start to read one book about the production in America during war time, when I feel eyes on me. I look up and see Aiden in the corner, looking at me nervously. I smile at him, playing it off as understandable uneasiness. I'm honestly amazed he doesn't hate me, considering that I was the one who shot his Mum. I poke my tongue out at him playfully, and he smiles a little and hides underneath his shirt sleeves. I chuckle and go back to reading my book. After a while, I hear a small humming sound beginning to be heard outside the faint crackling of what remains of our dimly lit fire.  
"Is our ride here?" I frown and drop my book.  
"Yeah," Ali nods, "I think."  
It turns out to be our guys, as they hop out and are greeted by the squad on the ground. Aiden stands up on tippy-toes and looks through the hole at the soldiers. He looks back at me and runs, burying his face against my stomach and hugging my back, whimpering.  
Ali and I share a look, before I smile and hoist him up, "Hey, come on, they're giving the soldiers medicine, look."  
I carry him to the hole in the wall, but he buries his face against my shoulder and refuses to look.  
"What are you going to do, Daniels?" Ali sighs, "He has to get on that thing."  
The little arms around my neck tighten as Ali says this, and I give her a dirty look.  
"Come here," I reach down and open a book, flicking it to the poster he was looking at earlier. I point at it, "Whose that?"  
He snatches a look at it, but keeps his face buried against my shoulder, "Soldier."  
"A good soldier?"  
"Yeah…"  
"Soldiers are brave, huh?"  
"… Yeah."  
"Do you want to be brave like a soldier?"  
"… Yeah…"  
"So, what we're going to do is go on a little ride, I'll be with you the whole way, I promise. We'll go high up into the air, so you can see the whole Wasteland, it's gonna be really cool."  
"Promise?"  
"I promise."  
He looks nervously up at me, before nodding. I get our stuff ready and carry Aiden down the stairs so he doesn't accidentally set off another trap. When we get to the ground, I put him down and hold his hand as we walk to the Vertibird. He lags behind a little, but I smile and just walk with him.  
"This doesn't look scary, does it?" I ask as we walk in and sit down.  
"... A little," Aiden admits.  
"Trust me, the view is really cool, especially early in the morning."  
The vertibird slowly takes off and we gain altitude. Aiden is very reluctant at first, but I convince him to look outside the window. This keeps him entertained the entire trip to the Citadel, his little face pressed against the glass as he points out to me every little thing he notices.  
"Look! Mole rat!" he shouts triumphantly over the noise of the engines as he presses one tiny, grubby finger against the glass. I look down and pretend to notice it, even though I don't see anything.

He shrinks further and furtherer against me when we start to descent and eventually thud to a stop. Aiden cries out at the sudden cease in movement and almost jumps off me in fright.  
"I've got you," I chuckle and carry him out of the Vertibird and into the Citadel. I put him down and hold his hand as we walk into the courtyard. Aiden stays close to me, obviously frightened at the big scary soldiers in suits running around and firing guns.  
"They're just playing," I smile, pointing at a group of soldiers who are high fiving each other at the shooting range, "This is how some grownups play."  
Aiden nods carefully, but still looks scared when he sees some soldiers fighting each other. I open the door, eager to take him away from the chaos outside to the organised chaos inside. People bustle about, carrying papers and looking far less threatening than the soldiers outside. I make my way down to the Lyons Den and stick my head inside. No one from the Pride is here, or else they would be sitting around the table.  
"Amata?" I call, letting go of Aiden's hand and walking into the Den. My wife pokes her head out of the barracks and gasps.  
"I thought you were joking!" she laughs and runs up to me and throws her arms around my neck into a tight hug. We share a few quick kisses before breaking away.

"Oh sweetheart," Amata smiles and crouches down to look at the kid beside me, "What's your name?"  
"Aiden…" he hides behind my leg shyly.  
"Aiden," she smiles, "How are you, Aiden?"  
He blushes and hides closer to me.  
"Amata's a nice lady, Aiden," I smile down at him, "She won't bite."  
I reach around a scoop him up into my arms.  
"He looks a lot like you," Amata says thoughtfully and rubs his cheek, "He needs a bath."  
"Black hair and blue eyes are fairly common, Amata," I smile at her, "You feel like having a bath, Aiden?"  
He shakes his head rapidly and I laugh, "Come on."

Half an hour later after thoroughly scrubbing him clean, Aiden crawls into his bed and hides underneath the blankets.  
"What's up, little guy?" I chuckle and crouch down beside him.  
"Can we play?" he pokes his head out and peers up at me.  
"Not right now, kiddo," I smile and hand him a book to read, "We'll play soon, alright?"  
He begins to twist his face in way of complaining, but I poke my tongue out at him, "Try it all you want, kid, it ain't going to work."  
He giggles and hides his face underneath the blankets.  
I shut the door behind me and come nose to nose with Amata. She smiles and kisses my lips and combs a hand through my hair.  
"What's that for?" I smile and give her a final kiss before she breaks away.  
"Charlie's going to love you," she smiles and wraps her arms around my neck, before a small trace of worry runs across her face, "What're we going to do?"  
I sigh and run a hand through my already ruffled hair, "I have no clue. He doesn't have any relatives, honey. I'll talk to Sarah about hitting me up with a list of orphanages in the Capital Wasteland the next time I see her."  
"Awesome," she nods.  
"He looks scared," I sigh as she hugs me and kisses my cheek.  
"Who wouldn't be?" she exhales and hugs me tightly, "I love you."  
"I love you."  
We stay still for a few moments, before her arms loosen around me and she whispers, "When are you leaving again?"  
I rest my chin against my best friend's head and softly rest my lips against her hair, "This afternoon. But I'll keep my promise on taking some time off from field duty the second I get back."  
Amata gives me a look I can't quite decipher. Her brown eyes look angry, but miserable at the same time.  
She sighs and rests her head against my shoulder, "You have no idea how much I love you, Winter."  
"I know you do, I-"  
"No, you don't," she lightly pushes away from me, "You were literally the only person who I could trust and count on, and before Charlie was born you were the only one who actually loved me. You have no idea the panic and fear that hit me when I saw you, lying on the ground in Springvale, unconscious, drenched in blood with your leg missing. I had to sit down in your apartment because I couldn't watch you being worked on. Church had to revive you a few times, you were barely hanging on. I've known you literally my entire life, I grew up, and you were always there. We grew up together, we played together, we studied together. Whenever you got into a fight with Butch, I would be there with ice and do my best to fix your wounds because you didn't want your Dad to be mad at you. When I thought that you were going to die… I… I didn't know what to do with myself. When you survived and we fell in love, I thought that we were going to be OK. You were in the BoS, but you were relatively safe and out of danger. I never blamed you for a second about what happened to me, and I never will. You were being, you. You helped someone when they were in trouble and you thought I was safe, I could never blame you for this. I didn't want to leave you when I found out about Charlie, but somehow you convinced me into it. You were there for me when he was born, you held my hand the entire time and made sure both of us had everything we could possibly need. Then you went away again, to fight and promised me that we'd be safe, and I believed you, I honestly believed that you'd be fine, that the worst you'd ever face would be a couple of raiders and just let that be it. Then I'm dragged away from the Vault, without even being able to say goodbye to the friends who I just mended relationships with, but I was more than happy to do it, for you. Then, I found out that you _deliberately _went and volunteered to put yourself in critical danger!"  
I open my mouth to say that I was chosen, not strictly speaking volunteered, but I firmly shut it. What Amata is saying is something she's wanted to say ever since she found out about me being in the Lyons' Pride, and I can't deny her a moment to get this off her chest. The fact that it's coming almost out of nowhere means she was waiting for an excuse to bring it up, not that I really blame her.  
"You have to understand, honey," she says with a passionate tone in her voice as, "I can't stand this. I can't imagine my life without you. When you walk out this door today, every second of every day when you're gone I'll worry about you." her hands reach up and touch the side of my face, with strands of my black hair spilling over her fingers. My pained eyes meet hers, begging her silently to stop, but she keeps going.  
"To think that I will never be able to touch you," she whispers, "Or kiss you, or hold you, ever again... Those beautiful, beautiful blue eyes, gone forever… I wouldn't know what to do, Winter."  
I look miserably at Amata, with her brown eyes swimming in tears.  
"I…" I choke out.  
Amata shakes her head and softly kisses my lips. I scrunch my eyes shut and I kiss back.  
"I love you," I say when we break away.  
"I know," she sighs and lowers her head. I wipe some tears from her eyes with my thumbs.  
"The second I come home," I hold back tears as I hold her face in my hands, "I promise you that I will do everything I can to stay out of danger."  
She shakes her head.  
"Amata, this is all my fault, I will never doubt that. I am so, so sorry."  
"Then leave," she whispers up at me.  
It kills me, but I shake my head, "I'm not leaving them behind, I can't, I'd never forgive myself."  
Amata opens her mouth to shout something at me, but instead she breaks down into tears and buries her face into my shoulder. I hold her tightly in my arms and kiss the top of her head as she cries.  
"I am so sorry," I whisper helplessly, "I am so, so sorry."  
She stifles back a sob and wraps her arms around herself, looking down and still shaking. After what seems like an eternity, she finally looks up at me and whispers, "Go."  
I stand there like an idiot for a moment, feeling like the biggest asshole to ever live. I'd reduced my wife, the woman I love most in the world, to nothing short of an emotional wreck. My chest aches and my eyes sting with tears as my mind works overtime to think of something to say. I come up with only one thing, "I love you, Amata."  
Amata turns away from me and exhales a shaky breath, "I know… I know."


	15. Chapter 15

"Jesus Christ, Daniels," Dusk gasps as I walk up to her, rifle in hand, "you look like shit."  
My mind is a lump of goo, and I can barely keep my head straight. I feel like the world's biggest idiot, how did I go this long and not notice anything about Amata? I shouldn't have joined the Pride; it isn't fair to Amata or Charlie. But, I've joined up now, and I plan on sticking it out until the end of the war, however long that is, but I feel numb. My body moves slow with regret and my chest feels heavy. Dusk hands me a pair of binoculars wordlessly and I allow myself to sit down and take in a few breaths.  
"Any movement?" I frown as my shoulders slouch forward.  
"None worth speaking about, what's up Daniels?"  
"Drop it, Dusk," I sigh and load a clip into my rifle and cock it. "Just go to bed."  
I sense the concerned glare that Dusk gives me, but I ignore her. Ali is busy loading bullets into magazines, I guess she took the hint that I really don't want to be talked to, because she doesn't say a word. It's a selfish and prickish thing to do, but I need to be able to think. I feel Dusk's hand placed on my shoulder and she squeezes, before she moves away and after a few minutes I can hear her snoring from her sleeping bag. I fight to keep my brain in check. I know I need to stay alert, so I try to push the weight off my head. I take a few deep breaths, and my mind begins to wander.

I pretend I'm lying in bed with the woman I love, warm and in pure bliss. I pretend seeing her smiling at me, and I begin to zone out, almost like a sense of heavy Zen. Soon all that is left is nothing but a heavy feeling accompanying a blank mind. I don't even think about anything, I just stare unblinkingly at the area.  
I hear a large bang and I instantly spring out of my trance. I look at my Pip-boy and swear, it's quarter to seven. I've been out of it for almost four hours. The sun is still out, and probably will be for another few hours. I look down and see a body lying in the street, and I look down and see my gun smoking. I don't even remember shooting him. Dusk rushes to my side and points her rifle outside and grunts, ready to shoot any threats.  
"Wow," Dusk raises her eyebrows at me, "that's a good shot, Daniels. Right through the eye."  
I zoom my scope in and see a neat little hole in an Enclave officer's eye, a small pool of blood leaking on his clothes and onto the ground.  
"Where there's an officer, there's a squad to protect him," Dusk sighs and keeps looking through the scope.  
I turn my head and I spot a small glimpse of light in a nearby window, my mind still completely blank, my body relying exclusively on instinct. I pivot my body to the right, throwing Dusk away from the window sill and onto the floor. I aim and shoot, driving a bullet neatly into an Enclave sniper in our opposite building. I instantly cock another bullet and turn my focus onto the street. I see two soldiers jogging between a building. Two bullets later, they're lying on the floor, dead.  
"Daniels!" Dusk shouts when I fire at a moving Enclave officer, "Stop! Your mag is dry!"  
I fire one more bullet and hear a click when I pull my trigger. Ali grabs me by my shoulders and shoves me back when I try to load another clip. Standard tactics dictate you let your buddy fire while you reload. There's no point in sticking your head out when you can't defend yourself. Dusk sweeps the area when my fingers move expertly, loading a clip, cocking the gun and Ali grips my shoulders, keeping me still. The second Dusk runs out of a clip, I pounce when she abandons her post. I look down my scope and see two squads of Enclave soldiers trotting toward us.  
I hear Dusk shouting something, but I simply aim down my scope and fire. Five of the twenty-five Enclave soldiers fall, either injured or dead. My bullets aren't armour piercing, so they take a few shots for them to fall. Ali shoves me back and I load another clip, I can hear her shouting something into a radio as Dusk fires. All I can think about is holding them back. That's all that matters. Dusk eventually runs out of bullets and I look out into the street. Reinforcements have arrived, all for the Enclave. I don't feel panicked as their numbers swell. I just keep firing.  
"Goddammit! Daniels! Hold this fucking line!" Dusk taps my shoulder as she radios for help.  
That's all I need to hear.  
I aim down my sights, and I fire. I don't miss a single shot, and I make each bullet do as much damage as possible. It takes me all of two seconds to load a spare mag; Ali always has one waiting for me. I move on instinct, taking out the ones closest to us, or the ones with the heavy weaponry. My eyes flicker up every few seconds, looking at the buildings around us and looking for a sniper. They fire on me, but the hole is too small, however they shoot above me. Dusty specs of ancient wall foundation clatter on my head, but I ignore it. After reloading a second time, I hear Dusk loading a shotgun behind me.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Ali shouts.  
"They're about to breach the building," Dusk grunts, "Daniels, thin them out!"  
I don't react to her. I only focus on firing onto them. I take down more and more soldiers, but they keep coming. I breathe in smooth, deep breaths and smoothly pull on the trigger.  
"What the fu-" Dusk's shout is drowned out by the sound of a shotgun blast. My head whips back and I see Dusk holding a shotgun with a dead Enclave soldier at the door. I instantly turn around and start firing, hoping to drastically reduce the amount of soldiers that run up the stairs. Ali hands me a mag, keeping one eye fixed on Dusk and one hand occupied holding a pistol.  
"Where the hell are our reinforcements?!" Dusk shouts, firing another round down the hallway, "Why the hell aren't our grenades going off?!"  
One… two… three more soldiers fall onto the earth. The three of us brought enough ammo for it to not be a problem. One spare shotgun rests on the ground, one that Ali loads, hands to Dusk, then she loads the other one when the other shotgun runs dry. Ali keeps her cool, her voice loud but calm as she hands me a clip, "Full clip!"

The Enclave's numbers have dwindled down to just 30, with what seems like so many more lying either dead or wounded on the street floor in a small ocean of blood and gore. I don't think we have to worry about any raiders or super mutants joining the fight, there's too much gunfire.  
Before I even know it, I don't have anyone in my line of sight, just twitching bodies. Dusk is still busy clearing out the inside of the building. Ali springs up and I tap Dusk's shoulder. Wordlessly, she takes a step back and Ali hands me the shotgun. The thing about this building is that we have the upper advantage. The soldiers will have our backs to us as they hustle up the stairs, having to turn around and face us in order to fire at us. The second one soldier moves up he is greeted with a collection of shotgun pellets to the back, it's enough to at least stun them. If they need another shot to bring them down, it would be a shot so readily used.  
Ali taps my shoulder, signalling I have one shot left before I run dry. There's a large pile of bodies lying in the hallway, another thing that works to our advantage. Not only is it difficult to stay on two feet while running across a pile of bodies, but it also strikes fear into your average soldier. I grab a drink of water and chug it down as Dusk fires.  
I hear more gunshots and running outside, I'm already at my station before Dusk can even open her mouth. Fiften BoS soldiers are sprinting down the street, firing their guns at the Enclave soldiers I couldn't shoot. I spin around on my heel.  
"Hold the line! It's almost over!" I shout at Dusk, "BoS reinforcements are breaching the building now!"  
"No! Now we push! Squeeze them in!" Dusk shouts and vaults over the staircase, shooting down it.  
"Dusk!" I call out after her, but my voice is drowned out by the gunfire. My eyes hurt from the strain of looking down the scope sometimes in direct sunlight and I've got a pounding headache, but that doesn't stop me from running down after her wielding a shotgun. Dusk and I move down the stairs, sandwiching the Enclave soldiers between us and the BoS below. I drop down flight after flight of stairs, finding all of our traps disabled.  
"Shit!" Dusk howls as she trips over a body and lands smack down onto the floor. Within a second I'm in front of her and covering her as she picks herself up.  
"Shit I'm bleeding," she grunts. I look back for a second and see blood running down her nose.  
I keep running down and pushing in between them until the last one falls.

For a while, the three of us stand in silence. Proper conscious thought comes back to my body and I turn my head to look at Dusk and Ali. Ali looks shell shocked, her eyes wide and full of horror as she looks at the carnage around us.  
"What the fuck just happened?" she whispers, her feet buckling. I rush over and grab her before she can collapse.  
"Easy, Ali," I whisper and hold onto her tightly. "It's alright, we made it."  
Dusk looks relatively fine. She dabs the blood from her broken nose against a spare rag and oversees the damage.  
"Holy shit," she sighs and runs a hand through her hair. "How did we survive this?"  
I shrug and feel Ali's body go limp.  
"Dusk," I call for her as I struggle to keep Ali from crashing on top of a couple of dead bodies. Dusk picks up her ankles and we start to carry her down the stairs.  
"Easy now," I frown as we move down the stairs. A squad of BoS runs up the stairs and stands completely still when they see us,  
"Holy… shit…" one soldier gasps, "you guys aren't dead!?"  
"I don't think so," I grunt. "Will someone fucking help us, please?"  
Someone scoops Ali up and I walk out onto the street.  
"You've got blood in your hair, Daniels," Dusk coughs. I ruffle my hands through my hair and see a cloud of dust escape from it.  
"How many of you are there?" one soldier sighs and walks up to us while someone begins to tend to Ali.  
"Three."  
"Shit," he sighs, "how many casualties?"  
"From the BoS? None," I sigh.  
"Your friend is in shock," someone calls and turns away from Ali, "When we head back to the Citadel we'll take her to the infirmary."  
"We're going back?" I frown.  
One soldier laughs, "Kid, you've killed more Enclave than I ever have. You guys deserve a rest."  
"I can still keep going," I say firmly.  
"No, you have a head wound," Dusk says firmly. "Paladin Daniels, stand down. You've fought a battle almost by yourself. Know when to quit."  
"I'm fine, it's just a scratch," I sigh, "I can help clear up."  
"Daniels!" Dusk shouts.  
"Fine!" I snap and throw my hands up into the air, "For fuck's sake!"  
I don't want to go home to Amata. I don't want to look at her miserable eyes as she finds out what I've been doing, especially when I told her that I wasn't going to be in any danger. I can't face those eyes again.

I'm silent on the Vertibird ride to the Citadel. My feet look shamefully down onto the floor as Ali starts to come around. I don't acknowledge her much; I just stay alone in my thoughts.  
My feet touch down onto the Citadel floor, and I look up and see people stopping what they are doing and look at us. I try to keep my head up as I walk down the courtyard, people saluting me as I walk past, them doing the same to Dusk.  
We walk down to the infirmary. Dad is standing idly by and gets me to sit down on the bench to examine me. I feel his fingers picking though my hair to look for wounds. I can hear him talking to me, but I don't say anything back. My head feels like it's underwater, and when he tilts my head back to look at me I let out on single sob. That's the only emotional release I allow myself. I only have a few cuts along my head from the fallen debris, but I don't need stitches. Dusk needs her nose realigned, but she makes me leave so I can go and get some rest.

I walk back into the barracks. Lyons instantly stands up with Kodiak running in. I walk past them and find Amata sitting down in the bunk bed, looking straight ahead. Her brown eyes are expressionless, until she sees me. She looks up at me, before springing up and hugging me tightly. The strained muscles in my arms ache, but I don't care. I hold onto her so tightly my arms start to burn.  
"I love you," she whispers, "I love you so much."  
I don't say anything, I only hold onto her. I don't even care when I realise Lyons and Kodiak are watching us embrace, and I don't even care when she breaks away from my arms and lays me down onto the bed.

Her warm hands softly press themselves against the side of my face, giving me the affection that I simply don't deserve. I have a fire inside me. It starts out as a small little flame, sparked when we started to fight. The fire only grew as the need to kill became more and more urgent. In that moment of pure instinct, I didn't feel anything. As I lie on the bed with my wife caressing me to sleep, my mind only thinks of what happened. I feel a rage I've never felt before. I needed to kill them. They _needed_to die. They stood in my way; they were trying to hurt me and the people that I care about. I feel a rise when I remember the piercing "clank" that every shotgun shell makes when it touched their metal armour, their howls as they fell. All of it was worth it, I battled them all and we came out on top. I could do it all again. I _need_to do it all again. I need to push them back as they tried to get at me. I was too quick, too accurate. Too deadly.  
The fire still burns hard inside me, but the exhaustion starts to factor in.

**Thanks to TrueNeutral for being beta, leave a review and I'll see you guys soon **


	16. Chapter 16

28th November

I wake up feeling completely numb. I lift my head up and see Winter asleep beside me. My arms are wrapped tightly around her and my eyes still sting from the tears from my face. How should anybody feel when they hare what was happening to their wife? Three people battling against well over one hundred soldiers, that's my best guess. I should be getting used to this by now, I really should. But how can you? When the possibility of your wife dying enters your head, what the hell are you supposed to think? My best friend, constantly throwing herself into danger… Jesus Christ how am I supposed to handle that? I softly kiss her cheek, my need to look after the kids easily overpowering my need to lie in bed with Winter the whole day. I get up and walk across the hall to Aiden's room. I open the door and see Aiden is still asleep, cuddling a teddy bear Winter found for him.  
"Aiden," I whisper and lightly nudge at his shoulder, "Wake up, sweetheart."  
Aiden opens one eye and looks at me, instantly flinching like he always does when someone touches him.  
"Winter's home if you want to say hello."  
Within a second he's bolt upright on the bed, smiling. He jumps up, dressed in only pyjama pants. He runs down the hall and makes enough noise so Winter wakes up. Aiden hasn't spoken much, he usually sits by himself, holding his teddy bear and flinching whenever someone tries to talk to him. Now, he actually smiles.  
"Hey kid," Winter smiles a fake smile. She's clearly still tired, but she still smiles at him as he sits down beside her.  
"I like it here," he says loudly, "The soldiers are funny."  
"The soldiers are funny?" she smiles at him.  
"Uh huh," he nods rapidly, "The big man makes funny jokes."  
"Really?" she smiles and runs a hand through her hair, "I'm gonna get breakfast, you coming?"  
"Yeah!" he grins and stands up and runs for the breakfast table.  
I smile and kiss Winter's lips good morning, "Morning."  
"Mornin'," she says uneasily, her eyes shining in doubt and her expression almost blank. I run a hand through her already messed up hair and hug her. I thread my fingers around hers and hold her hand. She doesn't say much as we walk to breakfast together.

"Guess what?" Lyons smiles at Winter when she sits down with a mountain of food on her plate.  
"What?" she frowns as she takes a bite out of some toast.  
"You just got two weeks of R&R, and you, Dusk and Ali are all receiving Medals of Valour."  
Winter looks bemused, "I already have one."  
"It's the highest award we can offer, Winter. Take it," Lyons says gently, "For god's sake, you deserve it."  
Winter sighs and crosses her arms, "I really don't…"  
"Take the damn medal, Winter," I sigh. Winter turns her head and gives me a surprised look. My face softens at her hurt expression, and I give an apologetic look back. I'm proud of her, so proud. She held it together and got out of there alive, but goddamn she is so stubborn sometimes when she doesn't need to be. Winter keeps eating her food and fakes a smile at Aiden, who eats his runny egg with his fingers.  
"Amata," she calls, flicking her fingers toward me. I walk toward her and she holds my hand, brushing her thumb against the back of my hand. She smiles softly at me, her bright blue eyes softening a little. I lean my head down and lightly kiss the top of her head to confirm I'm not angry at her.  
"You have no idea, how much what you three did to boost our morale," Lyons says with a smile, "Our best and brightest, fighting back a small army."  
The stupid pride inside me swells and I roll my eyes at myself. Winter doesn't really react to it, but she keeps listening.  
"So, what we're going to do is we're going to have a little ceremony. Ali and Dusk are fine, Ali got out of the hospital this morning. You won't have to do anything, just stand still as someone puts the medal on your chest. Wear your other one if you still have it."  
"I have it," I say instantly. I have it in my suitcase, protected in a leather pouch. Winter smiles up at me and I nod at her.  
"All I heard today was about how the Enclave couldn't handle what the BoS pushed at them." Sarah smiles, "You three caused quite a stir."

The ceremony is scheduled for 11AM, and Winter seems indifferent to it. She puts on her cleaned jacket and buttons it up when I walk in carrying the pouch.  
"You got two weeks off," I smile and slowly slip out the medal.  
"Yeah, it'll be good to take a breather," she sighs and turns around to smile back at me.  
"Hold still," I say quietly as I button her medal to her jacket. I back away, satisfied with its evenness, and smile at her, "You look great."  
She sighs and nods, "I know."  
I chuckle and peck her lips.  
"I love you," she says when we break away.  
I smile at her and wrap my arms around her neck, "I am so proud of you, Winter… and you look cute as hell in that jacket.  
She chuckles uneasily and scratches at her hair, "Don't let the Pride hear you say that. They'll tease me to no end."  
I ignore her and kiss her cheek, "I have to figure out what Aiden is going to wear."  
Winter rolls her eyes and chuckles, "I'm actually nervous."  
"Don't really blame you. But you don't have to do anything besides well… be you."  
She smirks down at me and I shrug, "I'm no good at this."  
"I've heard worse," she kisses me again and claps her hands together, "Anyway. Do you want to go back to Megaton?"  
"God, yes." I sigh. I've missed the quiet life. It would be nice not to live out of a suitcase for a while. Just being able to sleep in and be lazy all day sounds absolutely perfect.

The crowd for the ceremony is the majority of the Citadel, including scientists and scribes. I carry Charlie and hold Aiden's hand, who looks scared at the crowd around him. I find James and Madison talking together, dressed in clean science lab coats. Madison is already smothering Charlie with attention and takes him while James and I talk.  
"I don't know how to feel about it," James sighs as he takes a sip from a bottle of water, "This isn't any of her fault; what has happened. It's just… I promised Catherine I would look after Winter if something were to happen to her. Especially after Matthew…"  
I sigh and look over at Charlie, "I can't even begin to imagine what it would be like, losing a child I mean."  
James looks a little lost, his voice becoming softer, "I cannot even begin to think of what I would do if I lost Winter. After losing Matthew and Catherine, she's always going to be my baby girl. I still honestly can't believe the life you two have together now. It isn't fair on you or Charlie, but I know she's too stubborn to see otherwise."  
"She refuses to get out." I run a hand through my hair, "She sees it as something she has to stick out for the sake of the Pride."  
"I always imagined Matthew to be the soldier of the family."  
"How did he die?"  
James looks down and shakes his head, rubbing his eyes almost tiredly, "He died protecting the people he loved, even when it was not expected of him, he did it anyway. He was only a child, and I still do not know how Winter lived through that. I would almost thank God if Winter wouldn't stop rolling her eyes at the notion."  
I allow myself a small chuckle, even though the situation does not warrant one.  
"I do not have the Purifier anymore," James says almost casually as he sips on his water, "I cannot even begin to think about what those bastards are doing to it. It was like another child I had lost. When I found out that she had killed so many, my first reaction was one of pride, and one of satisfaction. I am ashamed of myself, nobody should allow to themselves feel pride in the fact their child has slain so many. You feel pride that they can handle themselves and are smart, independent individuals who are strong on their own. I guess I asked for too much with this, to feel the satisfaction that a Daniels child dealt a blow to the enemy force that ruined years and years of hard work we put into that Purifier. I suppose that never crossed her mind, no?"  
"You know she means well," I sigh.  
"I have no doubt her heart is in the right place," he says with certainty, "She just… thinks differently than I do. It is something to expect, yet I always am surprised."  
There is a thunderous applause as Dusk, Ali and Winter walk on the stage that had been used to demonstrate melee tactics. All three have determined expressions on their faces that I'm sure are strained from either reluctance or sheer exhaustion. All three look straight ahead, not even acknowledging the thunderous applause that rains onto them. I see an old man, dressed in robes, walk steadily onto the stage.  
"Is that Elder Lyons?" I whisper to James. He turns his head and nods. I am married to a woman who is a member of the Brotherhood of Steels most elite squadron, its leader being the daughter of the BoSDC Chapter, and I still have not even seen him. Sarah talks about him, but I have yet to see him until now. Elder Lyons stands proudly and delivers a speech about showing valour, honour and creativity under extreme circumstances. He talks about how the three of them fought back against impossible odds, and that they represented the fighting spirit to take against the Enclave. He attaches the medals on each of them, salutes them, and then shakes their hands. A small smile crosses Winter's lips and they are led away. The applause is almost deafening, it makes Charlie cry. I try to comfort him, but it doesn't work that well.

After the ceremony I immediately take the kids downstairs to the Den. I don't like Aiden feeling more anxious than he needs to be and I especially don't want Charlie's ears harmed by gunfire or even more shouting. Winter sits down at the table and runs a hand through her sweaty hair.  
"What's wrong?" I frown and sit down beside her and start to feed Charlie a bottle.  
"I'm so tired," she groans and rubs her face tiredly, "I didn't need to get this medal."  
"It gives people hope, and you know that."  
Winter rests her head against her palm and shakes her head at me, "I honestly don't know what the hell I am doing sometimes."  
I smile sympathetically, "You'll have two weeks to get your head clear. It'll do you so much good, honey."  
She nurses a glass of water in her other hands and sighs heavily.  
"Come on," I smile and reach out to hold her hand, "You'll put me at ease if you smile once in a while without pretending to."  
She looks at my hand and turns to me, smiling at both Charlie and I.  
"You should start packing," I say matter-of-factly, "The Vertibird will be coming in an hour."  
Winter nods and gets up, coming back after a matter of half a minute and dumping a bag onto the table, "I packed last night while you were still asleep."  
"What are we going to do with Aiden?" I frown.  
Winter shrugs and scoops up Charlie and tickles his belly, "I'd say bring him with us. You're OK with that?"  
I nod simply at her as she kisses Charlie's forehead when he smiles at her.  
"Look, I _promise _I won't fire a gun while we're gone when I don't need to. But I really want to work on those posters, only for a few hours a day, I promise."  
I chuckle at the desperate tone in her voice and I shrug, "So long as you aren't in danger, I don't care."  
Winter is about to say something but is interrupted by a knock on the door.  
"Washington!" Winter grins, hugging her former partner and he hugs back, "How's your ass?"  
Washington laughs and rolls his eyes, "Not as bad as yesterday. What the fuck is this I'm hearing about you getting _two _Medals of Valor?"  
Winter has a cocky grin on her face and I begin to step back to avoid the loud yapping that's about to occur, when I hear barking.  
"Dogmeat!" I grin when I see him trot in, his tail wagging.  
"This little guy is ready and rearing to go for combat," Washington says proudly, "Damn if the pooch ain't some kind of son to me now."  
"What are you wearing?" I grin down at him as he rushes over to me.  
"That, young Amata Daniels," he says proudly with some kind of elegance to his voice, "Is a state of the art, pre-war modified doggy vest. Completely stab proof, comfortable with a breathable fabric and even little pouches along the side for spare ammo rounds."  
Winter pets Dogmeat's head, earning her a lick on the palm and then the face, "Which means he can be back up?"  
"He can sniff out a mutant from a mile away. However, with the war effort, I took some time in the lab to find out a key component that the Enclave has on their armour that we don't. He can detect that and turn into a mean son of a bitch. And, this one's my favourite. Dogmeat, play dead."  
Instantly Dogmeat collapses onto the ground and stays deadly still, which sends a jolt through me when I realise why he might need to know it. Winter doesn't seem to mind, she actually thinks it's funny.  
"Dogmeat! Roll over," she grins and laughs when she sees him rolling around on the floor.  
"He's good to go," Washington sighs and sticks his hands in his pockets.  
"I'll make sure you have time with him, Washington," Winter smiles at him.  
"I won't have the time," Washington shrugs, "I have two classes of 4 dog squads to be teaching."  
"No shit," she gasps.  
"Yeah, Sarah Lyons saw me coaching Dogmeat while he was mauling a raider dummy. She wants to incorporate dogs into the war effort. Oh and look," he smiles and turns Dogmeat around, revealing the Lyons' Pride logo painted perfectly onto the left side of his vest.  
"That is awesome," Winter laughs incredulously and turns to me, "Well? What do you think, honey?"  
I don't like it, I love Dogmeat and having two of my family fighting on the front lines makes me scared stiff, but Winter knows that, it's in her eyes every time she looks at me. Even now, when she's happy, she still has a ghost of regret and guilt in her eyes.  
I smile and shrug, "I think he's a handsome new addition to the Pride. He's smelly and vicious, he'll fit right in."  
"Hey!" she laughs.

"Doggy!" Aiden grins and runs over to him.  
"Dogmeat registers the size of the child and the emotions of the people around him," Washington explains as Dogmeat sits down and wags his tail.  
"He isn't a robot, Washington," Winter smirks.  
Washington rolls his eyes, before grinning down at Charlie, "Hello little man. How're you doing?"  
Charlie makes a little smile and Washington lightly pinches his nose.  
"He's a cute little soldier," he smirks and looks at me, "He looks a lot like you, Amata."  
"Thank god," Winter sighs and looks down at Charlie, then smiling at me, "Come on, Amata. We'll miss the Vertibird."

We carry all of our clothes and Winter's work books into the Vertibird and carry the kids inside. It's late in the afternoon. Aiden curls up in a blanket, reading a book. I hold Charlie in my arms and I glance down at Aiden.  
"What's wrong, Aiden?" I frown when I see the worried look on his face.  
Aiden pulls the blanket over his head and I look anxiously at Winter.  
"Hey, little man," Winter frowns and crouches down beside him. This is a habit of Aiden's, he needs to hide. A lot.  
Aiden's fingers tighten around the blanket and he whines in distress.  
"What's up?" she says gently and pokes her head underneath the blankets to look at him.  
Aiden doesn't say anything; he just does his best to hide and whines when someone tries to look at him. Winter and I share a look, before Winter carefully scoops him up and carries him to the bench. She sits down beside me and he doesn't move as Aiden lies in her arms.  
He shivers and shakes his head, murmuring things to himself and cringing in her arms.  
"It's alright," I say gently and put a hand on his shoulder, "Easy little man, you're totally fine."  
Aiden whimpers and buries his face against Winter's bicep. Dogmeat stands up and walks over to Aiden, sniffing his arm carefully. He licks it in an act of comfort and looks up at Winter for guidance.  
"Good boy," she whispers at him and pats him with the side of her shoe.

We get to Megaton in time for dinner. I freeze a little bit as Winter unlocks the door to our home.  
"I can't remember the last time I was here," I whisper as I walk in and I'm hit by a flood of memories.  
Winter smiles and looks at me, "Charlie hasn't even been in here yet."  
I walk inside and sigh unevenly, fighting back tears.  
"This is awesome," I whisper.  
"Everything was simpler, wasn't it?" she smiles and puts Aiden down. Aiden looks around anxiously, clutching his teddy close to him as he stands in the middle of the living room.  
"You hungry, kiddo?" Winter smiles and crouches down beside him.  
He nods a little bit and Winter walks for the fridge.  
"Winter what are you doing?" I sigh irritably, "The food in there can't be less than a few months old."  
She opens the door to the fridge and grins, "No _fucking _way!"  
I rush over and see the fridge pilled to the brim with food and drinks. A note taped to the fridge in nice handwriting with "Welcome home!" written on it explains that someone in Megaton knew we were coming back home.  
"Don't swear in front of Aiden, Winter," I half-heartedly scold as I gaze at the food.  
Winter turns her head sharply at Aiden and makes a face. He giggles and covers half of his face with his teddy.  
"Nuka cola," she grins and brings out two bottles.  
"Oh honey, don't give him sugar," I sigh as she unscrews a cap and hands it to him. He takes a few sips and she hands him some noodles.  
"Noodles!" he grins and frantically stuffs his face.  
Winter follows suit with some noodles of her own, but I decline dinner and walk upstairs to put Charlie to bed with Dogmeat following me. I turn on the light to our room, planning on wrapping Charlie up in a blanket and putting him to bed inside one of the suitcases in a bunch of blankets, but I stop dead. A strong, sturdy baby crib rests in the corner of the room, complete with a few blankets with "Charlie" stitched neatly onto one of them.  
I almost burst into tears right there and I barely call out Winter's name before I have to stop talking to prevent a breakdown.  
"Aw hell yeah!" she grins, "Building a crib was going to be a gigantic pain in the ass."  
I hand Winter to him and sit down on our bed, "Oh my god…"  
"I am absolutely giving them some cash tomorrow morning," she smiles and looks down at Charlie.  
"Did you know about this?" I frown at her as she carefully lowers him onto the crib.  
"Nope, but it doesn't take a genius to know this was probably Moira and or Lucas' doing," she tucks him into the blankets and smiles down at him, "Night, little guy."  
She turns to me and I smile at her.  
"What?"  
I walk towards her and slip my arms around her neck and kiss her, "Y'know… I wouldn't mind us living here, after the war."  
She nods and rests her lips against my forehead while she ponders, "I wouldn't mind settling down for a while when this thing ends."  
"For a while?" I frown, a little ball of nervousness hits my stomach.  
My wife shrugs and kisses me, "Well… we'll have to get jobs. I'll probably just work as a Megaton guard. Simple stuff, you know. Just standing guard and watching over traders."  
I relax a little and Winter pulls away, "I'm going to go put Aiden to bed. I'll be back in a second."

I go to bed and hear some shuffling from downstairs, Winter murmuring something to Aiden, then the door opening. Winter simply takes off her jacket and collapses into bed beside me. Within a second I feel her arm slip around my stomach and I feel her kissing along my neck and jawline.  
"I love you 'Mata," she murmurs against my ear.  
I smile and twirl our fingers together.  
"How's Aiden?" I whisper so I don't wake up Char.  
She sighs heavily and rolls away from me and onto her back, "Not good. One moment he's happy and like a normal kid. The next…"  
I roll onto my side and look over at her, "What do you want to do?"  
Winter turns her head, "What do _you _want to do?"  
It's my turn to sigh and I look up at the ceiling, "We'll think of something. We always do."  
She exhales softly, her only movements coming from her blinking blue eyes.  
"Can I tell you something?" she almost whispers.  
"I can't think of a single thing you could tell me that wouldn't shock me," I smile and roll onto my side to face her.  
Winter sits up and rubs her face with both hands, "When we left the medal presentation thing, I went into the Lyons Den. We got a casualty report for the Enclave side."  
Her hesitation in her voice isn't one of regret or mourning, it's one of shock.  
"I know that the majority of them were mine. It just… it's impossible. There can't be 250, there just can't. It doesn't make sense to me. But… that wasn't our problem."  
I don't say anything, I just let her talk.  
"When we moved into the Den, they asked who shot at who first. I said I engaged the enemy first, which was true. But… Why were there so many? Over 250 men running around in Downtown DC. Even before the war we never mobilised that many troops in the area. The mutants aren't a problem and the metros are too destroyed to hope to set up a supply route."  
"Maybe the medical supplies?" I say simply and sit up beside her.  
She shakes her head, "No. There's no way that anyone knew about that."  
"What's wrong then, Winter?" I whisper and look at my wife's troubled face. I look down and notice her twisting her wedding ring around the base of her finger in thought.  
"Maybe someone informed the Enclave, or someone followed us. A scout maybe. The point is, we can't let our operations be picked at by the Enclave. We had a few months' worth of food and medical supplies in that building. We held it, but what if we lost it?"  
"But you didn't. You three fought like champions, and you didn't give up for a second. I couldn't be more proud of you for that, Winter."  
She turns and smiles, pecking my lips and lying back down on the bed.  
"Remember when we were 19 and 20? This was our little house."  
Winter chuckles, "Our memories of 19 and 20 aren't pleasant ones."  
"Well… I truly fell in love with you here. This was we first slept together, this was where I knew I would love you and- what are you doing?"  
I turn my head and see Winter's hands covering her face, her body shaking a little bit.  
"Are you laughing?!" I gasp incredulously. I pull her hands away and see her grinning up at me.  
"I'm sorry!" she laughs and tries to cover her face again, "I went from a battle situation to this in less than two days, it's just… weird."  
I roll my eyes and look over at Charlie, who already is asleep. I look back over at Winter, the regret in her eyes temporarily gone and replaced with a far more appealing happiness to them. I shuffle closer to her and kiss her lips with one hand resting in her hair. I hear some scratching at the door and Winter breaks away, crawling over me and opening the door. Within a second four paws pad onto the blankets and Dogmeat instantly lies down onto the bed, ready to go to sleep by Winter and I's feet.  
Winter smirks, crawling back into bed with me. She pulls the blankets over us, but I feel something missing from me. Within a second I feel one warm arm slip over my stomach and Winter huddling close to me.  
"Goodnight, Amata."  
"Night," I whisper and rest my head against her bicep. I feel her lips press against my forehead and I sigh happily when she does so, "…Winter?"  
"Yeah?"  
I hesitate for a moment, but my mouth is moving before I can stop myself.  
"Promise me, right here and now, that when this war is over and everyone is safe, you'll leave the BoS on and we'll live here, forever?"  
I feel an arm tightening around my stomach and her kissing my neck softly, "I promise."


	17. Chapter 17

"Honey," Amata yawns and walks down the stairs carrying Charlie, "How long have you been up?"  
I look up from my pile of poster sketches and books and smile at the two of them, "Char woke me up at around 3. I fed him a bottle and came down here to work."  
Amata sits down beside me and kisses my cheek good morning.  
"You're a good drawer," she smiles, "I like them."  
I've spent the early hours of the morning and late hours of the night for the past week and a half working hard on recruitment posters to show Lyons when I get back. I don't want to show up from a break having done nothing to contribute to the war effort. I haven't left Megaton much, it's great to be back in a relatively calm environment. Most people in Megaton support the BoS, whether or not it's because of the military base right next to I'm not entirely sure. I keep my head low, I don't want to be recognized while I'm having down time with my family, but a few people still spot me in the street and talk to me for a while, I don't really mind that much.  
I sit up properly in the chair as she dumps Charlie into my arms, "I'm going to make breakfast."  
I groan and hold Charlie upright. He looks up and grins at me, a big gummy grin.  
"No!" I gasp and quickly grip his flailing arm that reaches for my posters, "Not for babies!"  
"Good quick draw," Amata smirks as we walks in with her breakfast.  
"Smartass," I smirk and roll my eyes. Amata opens her mouth to say something when I hear a faint gunshot. My head jerks upright. It's too close to have come from Springvale… The rounds fired there are usually for target practise, they're only little faint "pop"s, this is definitely closer.  
Within an instant Amata reaches over and snatches Charlie from me.  
"Go upstairs with Char and Aiden," I say calmly and smile assuringly at her, "It's probably some idiot who's showing off."  
She nods and I grab my revolver, just to be safe, before I walk outside.

Megaton has a cold bite of air to it in the cooler months, at least in the early hours of the morning. I like the sharp cold in the early morning, it keeps me awake, and alert. Heat is like a blanket, you can feel it on you and it distracts you. Being out here for three years, I've grown to get used to it, but it doesn't mean that I like it. I walk briskly down the ramps and groan when I see a large crowd of people gathering in one spot. I vault over a small fence and see two people rolling around on the ground, flinging their fists at each other like a pair of kids with a gun tossed away from them.  
"Oh for fuck's sake…" I trail off and shove my revolver into my holster, "Hey! Break it up!"  
I grab one by the arm and pull, managing to drag one away from the other for a few seconds. The guy I grabbed looks pretty roughed up, and I look around and see people staring at me.  
"What?" I frown as the guy drops down beside me and frantically stutters an apology, my name barely recognizable through the mass of gibberish coming from her mouth. The other guy, however, doesn't change his tone.  
"You fucking commie!" he spits and shoves me.  
I'm a little stunned as he shoves me, but I quickly gain my footing and stand off against him, "What's the problem, man. Just calm down a little, yeah?"  
"Nice words coming from a goddamn murderer!" he spits and shoves me again, but this time I'm ready. I grab his arm and pull and swing, sending him sprawling onto the dirt. Obviously word _had _to have gotten out to the Enclave citizens about what Ali, Dusk and I did in DC, and I'm sure the Enclave's information about the events got a little… manipulated. I'd rather be at home right now than talk to a man who's probably been told I'm a monster for some insert-reason-here, so I try to defuse the situation.  
"I'm not in the mood to be fighting someone on a morning as nice as this, but obviously I see you have other ideas. What's your name?"  
"Fuck you," he coughs as he tries to stand up, but I calmly put my shoe against his back.  
"Alright, Fuck You," I say simply, "You and I are on two opposing sides of this little conflict, aren't we? I think we should be leaving the fighting to the battlefields. I don't like having civilians having a first-hand view of the ugliness of war. Does that make sense?"  
He coughs and I smile down at him, "I really don't want to fight you sir, but you and that other guy shouldn't be fighting in front of all these little kids. If I have to apprehend you, I will. In the Megaton Jail, of course. I'm going to let you up now, you'll play nice?"  
He grunts in reply and I cautiously move my foot away from his back. He slowly gets up and snarls at me when he meets my gaze, but he doesn't attack me.  
"Like it or not we can't go fighting around civilians, sir," I shrug, "No matter how much the other person may deserve it."  
He grunts his reply and I innocently shrug back at him, "I'm not going to call the sheriff if you just play nice. Deal?"  
He scowls and trudges away. The BoS citizen fumbles another series of apologies, but I just nod and shake his hand, thank him for his support (weird coming from a 22 year old 5'3 woman to a 30 something 6'2 man), then walk home.

"Oh my hero," Amata teases lightly as I walk back into the house, Charlie in her lap and reading him a book.  
"I have my moments," I shrug and see Aiden walking downstairs, "Hey bud, what's happening?"  
Aiden rubs his eye tiredly and clutches the bannister uncertainty and looks at my waist. I look down and see him looking at my gun.  
"Ah it's nothing," I shrug simply and take off my belt, "Come here, I want to talk to you about something."  
Aiden's little feet pad on the floor as he sits down at the table, clutching his teddy bear close to him.  
"You aren't in trouble," I try to assure him.

To be honest, I can only assume what Aiden is worried about. It's very hard to get a response out of him, or figure out what he's thinking. One can only guess.  
Aiden buries his face firmly into the wool of his teddy bear before I can start talking, but I don't dare try to take him away from his "hiding place".  
"I think I found a friend for you to play with," I smile and put a hand on his leg, "Her name is Maggie, she's around your age."  
Aiden pokes his head out of his hiding place and I smile kindly back at him, "You'll like her, buddy. I promise."  
"Is she nice?"  
"She's very nice," I nod sharply, "I'll be there the whole time, OK? Nothing's going to happen. So, do you want to go play?"  
Aiden hesitates as he thinks, his cute blue eyes barely seen as he peers over the wool of his teddy, "OK."  
I smile and stand up, "That's really great, Aiden. You'll have so much fun you won't even know what to do with yourself."

Maggie's father, Billy, owns a house near ours. He and I used to chat for a while when I was around 19 whenever I was at Moriarty's place. I knocked on his door a few days after we arrived and asked for a play date. I wanted to get Aiden settled down before he could do something as stressful for him, like playing with a kid. It sounds so weird, but the poor little man can barely take talking to strangers, how he got along with the Pride I'll never know. Amata and I sit with Billy at his front porch while Maggie teaches Aiden the basics of tag and hide and seek.  
"He's a good kid," Billy comments when Aiden chases Maggie going full speed.  
I take a sip of my beer and nod, resting my feet absentmindedly on the porch railing alongside Billy's.  
"That leg's a goddamned scientific miracle, right there," he chuckles when I put my fake leg over my real one, "It was all everyone here talked about it when that numb nuts on Galaxy News Radio told about it on the air."  
"It's really bad that we can't help more people because of it," I sigh, "In reality, I have no idea who patched me up, no matter what the Enclave says. The guy who did it refuses to release who he is or even how his methods work. It makes me look like a selfish prick hogging all the life changing tech."  
"Well you deserve it, of all people," he nods and takes a drink of his beer, "Hell, what was it…? 200? 250 of those bastards the Pride took down?"  
I hold back a cringe and instead shrug it off like it's nothing. Amata seems to register my discomfort and holds my hand, holding Charlie in the other.  
"Your boy's outta be proud of you," Billy smiles down at the baby, who smiles back almost without thought.  
"We don't know what to do with Aiden," Amata sighs and shakes her head, "He's clearly emotionally damaged, we don't know who to take him to so he can get some help."  
"Well an orphanage won't help him for nothing," he shakes his head firmly, "Mean spirited places, they beat the kids into mean little bastards. Your boy would break like a twig under that pressure."  
I feel a heavy feeling in my chest and throat, but Billy goes on.  
"Yeah they breed those kids to survive, most of them break off and either become raiders or mercs, depending on how scarred they got. Best thing I would recommend would be to find him some parents who have the time and ability to give him the proper attention and care the boy deserves."  
I can feel Amata looking warily at me.  
"The war'll make families hard to come by, but I'm sure you'll find somebody. 'Till then I'd be happy to have Aiden play with Maggie."  
"Yeah it's good for him to have a friend his age. Relative innocence is hard to come by."  
"Nuh uh, Maggie ain't innocent. Found her hiding under her bed after a raider raid. Things she's seen… damn. She's mostly forgotten about it now, either that or she just ignores it, that stuff never really goes away."  
I look at Amata, who looks warily at me with our innocent infant son.  
Aiden staggers onto the porch with a smile on his face.  
"You're having fun, Aiden?" I smile and look down at him.  
"Yeah!" he grins and holds out his hands, "Can I keep playing?"  
"Of course, little man. Go for broke," I nod and ruffle his messy black hair.  
"He looks like you," Billy comments as I smile at Amata and Charlie.  
"Yeah."

I manage to drag Aiden away from Maggie after a few hours, his face bright red and tired from his play. We come home and give him lunch before putting him and Charlie down for a nap. Amata and I sit down together at the kitchen table.  
"What do we do?" I tap my fingers against the metal table in an awkward, almost frantic beat.  
Amata runs a hand through her hair and shakes her head, exhaling anxiously.  
"He needs to feel safe," she sighs, "We just… he deserves that much."  
"What if he grows up and hates me?" I shake my head, "I killed his mother."  
Amata, for some reason, chuckles to herself, "You've done this before and you still stuck with Charlie and me."  
My body almost enters a full convulsion from that evil memory, but I do my best to ignore it for now.  
"Can we raise another kid? I mean- Charlie's already a handful and he's… not… Aiden."  
Amata understands well enough what I mean, and her expression softens slightly.  
"You and I both saw him playing, honey. He's still a little boy; we can bring him back from it. I adore him, Winter. I know I can love him as much as I love Charlie. He's sweet and when he is playing, he is _exactly _like you when you were his age."  
"Can we raise him? I mean… fuck, Amata. The kid almost got blown to smithereens when I met him. We both aren't psychiatrists, we don't know how to fix emotional trauma. I want to, I swear I do, but would he be better of being with us instead of someone who is… a doctor or something?"  
"And the costs of medical help..."  
"But… he likes being here. And I have that responsibility to make sure he lives safely in a home that we know will look after him. I know I can look after him, I know that we can be good parents but…" My mortality suddenly becomes a factor. Normally a 22 year old, fit, healthy female wouldn't need to consider death, but one who's in the middle of a bloody conflict does. I have my will already written and tucked in a BoS archive, ready to be cracked open at a moment's notice and read to a devastated Amata and Charlie after they've buried me. Would adding Aiden to this potential list of potential mourners now be such a good idea?  
"You're not going to die, Winter," Amata says quietly, picking up on my silence and train of thought like someone who has known me for the majority of my life can do, "I know you won't. You're too goddamn stubborn, you'll rip the bullet out and keep going."  
I smirk and reluctantly shake my head, "We can't ignore the possibility, Amata."

After hours of talking, sometimes arguing, Amata and I finally come to a decision after almost killing each other trying to get to it. I stand up and rub my eyes tiredly with my palms. I leave for the Citadel in just a few days; this all seems so fast to be doing this. Amata and I have been meaning to have this discussion beforehand, but we always got distracted by one thing or another. Amata and I hug each other tightly with a smile on both our faces, an uneasy one, but the feeling is still there.  
"Are you ready?" I ask her, "We can do this tomorrow if you want. I know you're tired."  
She shakes her head sharply, "No. We have to do this now."  
I walk upstairs and wake up Aiden, then bring him down with Amata.  
"Hey little man," I smile and crouch down in front of him as he sits down, cuddling his teddy bear close to him.  
"Hi…" he whispers uncertainty.  
"Do you like Amata and I?" I ask as Amata sits down beside me.  
Aiden smiles and hides into his teddy bear shyly, "Yes…"  
"You aren't scared of me?"  
He slowly shakes his head.  
"Do you like Charlie?"  
"Yeah," he smiles.  
"Do you like Amata?"  
"Yeah," he nods.  
"Well… Aiden… Do you want to live here?" I ask, "We can be your new parents, if you want."  
It's very hard to have a serious conversation with somebody this young and for him to make this decision at this age. The fact that he is in this situation entirely because of me makes the situation that much more nerve racking, though I'd much rather have this discussion than fall asleep at night thinking about the kid I let life with his careless father.  
"New Mommy and Daddy?" the poor little kid looks so nervous, he's afraid of doing something wrong.  
"Well… not a Daddy…" I scratch the back of my head as I try to think, "But you'd have a baby brother and new parents. If you don't want to live here Aiden, I _promise _I won't be mad. Just know that if you do want to, we'll look after you and make you feel safe, OK? We'll do anything for you, little man. If you don't want to live with us, I will look _everywhere _for someone who can do the same and be cool parents to you."  
Aiden hugs his bear tightly and nods, "I want to live here."  
"Are you _sure_?" I say firmly, "It's totally fine if you don't want to, if you're scared or something we won't be mad."  
"I want to live here," he repeats, poking his head up from his bear to look at me.

Amata grins next to me and nods, "OK."  
He hops off the chair and hugs me. Even when I'm crouched down he's still shorter than me. I smile and hug him back, his teddy crushed in between us. Aiden breaks away and hugs Amata as well, Amata of course is crying.

I head down to the market in Megaton and buy some more blankets and toys for Aiden and Charlie while Amata cooks dinner. The look on Aiden's face when I come home with a Nuka Cola truck almost makes his eyes bob out of his head.  
I walk into the kitchen and slip my arms around Amata, "How are you feeling?"  
"Scared, nervous," she trails off and continues cooking and looks back at me and shakes her head, "I know we can do this. We're making it look scarier than it actually is."  
I nod in agreement and rest my chin against the top of her head. Her body radiates with warmth and I can't get enough of it. I softly kiss her cheek and along her neck and nuzzle my nose into the crook of her neck.  
I feel Amata's hand threading through my hair and I playfully bite into her neck. She gasps and whacks my shoulder, "What are you doing?" she giggles, "Keep it in your pants, Daniels."  
I smirk and break away and start to help her with dinner. We feed the kids and I play with Aiden for a few hours, until he's fighting to stay awake on the couch. I put him to bed and kiss his forehead goodnight.  
"Night, kiddo," I smile and tuck him in, putting a glass of water on the table for him to drink during the night.  
"Night," he murmurs.

I walk into my room and see Charlie is already in bed. My heart aches when I realise I only have a few days left to enjoy this quiet life. I collapse into bed beside Amata, my gut full of food and soon the woman I love in my arms.  
"Never in my wildest dreams…" she trails off to herself, her head resting against my shoulder as I lie on my back.  
"I know," I smirk, "I remember when we were little kids, you had a little doll you would always look after."  
"When I was a little kid, I never even dreamed that I would even be kissing you, let alone married and having kids."  
She rolls over, her head still on my shoulder, "I don't think I could be happier."  
"Eh, wait until the war is over, I'll show you happier," I smile and kiss her cheek.  
She giggles and cuddles against me

I wake up early in the morning, keen on starting to pack and be ready for the Vertibird leaving at 10 this morning. I smile and look down at Amata, asleep beside me with a beautiful body that I don't dare to touch and risk waking her up. I slip out of bed, get dressed and open one duffel bag. I start to pack my clothes and open one drawer. My fingers brush against one of Amata's shirts and I lift it up, but I don't put it in the bag. I look at it for a while, then at my sleeping wife. She was asleep, happy and content in a safe house. I carefully fold it back and put it in the drawer, feeling more weighted inside. I hear her stirring and rolling over in her sleep, but she doesn't wake up. She looks so... carefree.

Ugh… This was the plan all along, you stupid idiot. You're lucky she's even with you right now; she's supposed to be in the Vault. In fact, this is the best thing that ever could have happened. Charlie's healthy and well fed, Amata is happy and within your reach at this very moment and not locked away in a Vault. It's safe here; nobody will hurt her or the boys. It's perfect. But it still hurts.

I can't let Amata and the kids come back with me, it isn't fair on them. I wince when I realise this will be Amata and I's last morning together for a while, so I finally break my reluctance and kiss her cheek. She stirs awake and smiles up at me, "Hey," she whispers, her voice laced with tiredness.  
"Hey," I smile back, "Morning."  
I can see it in her eyes, last night she was thinking exactly what I was thinking. Megaton is too perfect to toss away for the sake of my happiness, and I love her so much for thinking that. I look at her for a few seconds, and she shakes her head and pecks my lips to try and get the longing look off of my face.  
"I love you," she whispers.  
"I love you," I respond with as much sincerity I can muster within me.  
Amata slips her arms around me and pulls me down beside her.  
"Honey I-" I begin to protest but she cuts me off.  
"It's 5:30, we still have time," she sighs and cuddles herself against me. It's like she's dragging me further down with her, into a warm body of water that I don't want to leave so I don't have to face the cold, sharp world outside. I've done this so many times it drives me crazy, but yet it still gets harder every single time.

I hold Amata tightly in my arms as we begin to say our silent goodbyes. I drag myself further and further down into a pool of absolute dread. I love lying with her like this, and I'm content on spending the rest of my day doing exactly this, but I can't. I probably won't be able to for at least until Christmas if I'm lucky. I want to go back, I need to help Dusk and Lyons and Kodiak because I made a commitment to it. Even though Kodiak wanted me to leave while I was still strong and healthy, I turned it down because I still could fight. And I intend to fight with everything I have, even if that means having to leave my family for a few months to ensure their lifelong safety. I have to do this, but as I lie here, my body begs me not to. She's so warm, and the battlefield is so cold in the early hours of the day. She's so kind, and the harshness of a gunfight drowns out any happy memories you have while you crouch, firing and killing. She's so… she's so fucking perfect.

Amata senses my body going stiff and tense, and she carefully brushes a strand of hair off my face and strokes my cheek to calm me down. My pained blue eyes look at hers, and I know what she's thinking. I'm leaving her again, I can drag my feet to the Vertibird all I want, I'm only just delaying the inevitable.  
"Don't give me that look," she smiles like a mother scolding her child who has puppy dog eyes, "You'll be home soon."  
I fake a smile back, feeling like a massive dickhead for hurting her again as I watch her get up.

"Winter," Amata whispers and shuts the door behind her, her face still looking directly at me while she does so. I look at her for a few seconds and see the pain on her beautiful face, before slipping my bag off of my shoulder and walk towards her. I wrap my arms around her and she rests her head against my shoulder.  
"I'm not mad," she whispers and rubs my back, "I'm totally, 100% not mad at you."  
"I can't take them back there," I whisper and holds back tears, "I'm so sorry, honey. I need to keep you guys safe."  
I hold her tightly, "I know, I know."  
"I have my radio," she exhales shakily, "I'll call you every day."  
"I know you will."  
"I love you," she says with a sense of urgency in her voice.  
"I love you too," I almost mouth and kiss her forehead delicately.  
"I'll miss you," she whispers.  
"You'll talk to me every day. I promise, we'll talk for like, an hour."  
She nods and kisses me.  
"Don't die," she jokes and squeezes my hand when we both reluctantly break away from each other.  
"I won't," I laugh and walk down the stairs.  
"Aiden," I smile and walk up to him as he looks at a book, "C'mere."  
He looks up fearfully at me, my belt ringing with the sound of my revolver hitting the leather and the spare rounds chirping against each other in their pockets as I walk. I don't look very friendly, but I smile as I crouch down in front of him, "You're the leader while I'm gone, OK?"  
"OK…"  
"What happens if some bad guys show up and you're outside playing with Maggie?"  
"Go to Billy's." We went through this a few times before in these past few weeks, it was too important to forget  
"And if you're home?"  
"Go upstairs and hide under my bed."  
"Good man," I smile and tap his shoulder, "Be good."  
"I will."  
I turn to Charlie, lying on his back and wriggling his tiny fists in the air.  
"Bye Char," I smile and tickle his belly, "Try not to keep your Mum up for too long."  
He gargles a smile up at me and I kiss his cheek, "Good boy."  
I stand up and Amata hugs me tightly a final time. We exchange "I love you"s before I hold Dogmeat by his leash.  
"Bye," I smile, pretending to be happy and cheerful when I'm actually fending off tears.  
I'm not mad, I'm relieved that they're relatively safe, they don't belong in a military base, no baby belongs there.

I catch the Vertibird to the Citadel and walk down to the Den, ignoring the people who try to talk to me.  
"Hey! Look who's back from break!" Dusk grins and hugs me.  
"When did you get back?" I frown.  
"Early this morning. Went down to Rivet City with Ali, we were going to invite you but I think you had enough going on at home."  
I nod and dump my duffel bag onto the desk in front of Lyons, "I did some work on some recruitment posters while I was gone. I unzip the bag and put a briefcase on the table.  
"Guess what?" she smiles, "Recruitment went up 33% in the past two weeks."  
My shoulders sag and I groan at the time I've wasted.  
"Don't give me that look, Daniels," she chuckles and opens the briefcase, "We'll use these, we need more men either way."  
I nod and Lyons looks to the door, "Where's the family?"  
"They stayed back home," I sigh and zip up my bag, "I figure you won't like kids running around here."  
"Pft… no shit," Dusk smirks, "I can finally start swearing more now."  
I roll my eyes and go into my bunk to put away most of my stuff.  
"Hey Kodiak," I nod at him, lounging on his bunk with his hands behind his head.  
"Hey, Daniels," he grunts and sits up, "Kids back at Megaton?"  
"Yep."  
"Alright," he gets up and claps his hands together, "Let's go for a workout."

I drag myself back into the Den with aching arms from climbing walls and aching legs from running laps around the Citadel almost 10 times.  
"You're getting stronger," Kodiak comments and sits down, only barely out of breath as he sips on some water. I lean against the table and run a hand through my sweaty hair.  
My posters are sprawled over the table, with Lyons looking at the curiously.  
"These are good, Daniels," she nods and taps on them and taps his finger against one poster with "Fight!" on it with a BoS soldier in the centre.  
"Thanks," I pant, trudging off to the shower. When I come back, clean and cool again. I feel exposed without Amata with me, alone even, but I shrug it off and sit back down in front of Lyons.  
"Alright," I grin and clap my hands together, "What's my first assignment?"  
Lyons rolls her eyes and sprawls a map across the table.  
"What the hell is this?" I frown and point at downtown DC. Blue dots, representing BoS, dot along the area of downtown DC.  
"We've set up a few command points to choke out Enclave supply lines trying to shimmy through DC and into Rivet City, then through to the Jefferson Memorial." She points and traces a very zig zagged line along Downtown DC and surrounding the limits to Rivet City.  
"Rivet City is neutral territory. No soldiers are allowed to occupy it, though we've traded ammo supplies so we can hold some recruitment stations there.  
I nod, "So? What am I doing?"  
"You and Dusk are going to be launching a counter offensive along the north of Downtown DC. The Enclave have set up camp along the Downtown DC northern areas. If they're smart, they'll push through DC and clear out our presence there so they can get their supplies through."  
I nod and look over at Dusk, "You up for it?"  
Dusk yawns and stretches out on her chair, her back making small popping noises, "I need to get the fuck into a battle zone. I'm feeling way too comfortable."  
"Do we bring Ali?"  
Lyons shrugs, "If you want, but it might get heated."  
I sigh and lean against my chair, "I'll obviously talk to her about it."

I find Ali sitting down in the barracks by herself, which kind of depresses me because she looks so sad.  
"What's up, Ali?"  
She looks up at me and crosses her arms sadly, "What's up, Winter?"  
"You doing OK?" I frown.  
Ali runs a hand through her blonde hair and sighs, "Yeah, I'm fine."  
"Oh… OK…" I sigh, not believing her for a second, "How was your time off?"  
Ali shrugs again silently, reminding me of Aiden, "It was OK."  
The barracks are almost empty, at 12PM most people are either out training or out to lunch, so I sit down beside her, "So… you're busy?"  
Ali shakes her head and pats Dogmeat's head, "I have a clear schedule."  
"Alright. You want to go on a job with me?"  
Her eyes light up and she looks at me with a bright grin, "Really?"  
"Yeah," I nod. What is it about me that cheers immature people up?  
"Who's going?"  
"Dusk."  
The smile instantly vanishes from her face and she sighs, "OK…"  
"What did you two fight or something?" I frown and nudge her shoulder.  
Ali shifts uncomfortably on her chair and doesn't answer me.  
"Look, I'm not going to treat you like a kid. Do you want to come or not?"  
Ali sighs and nods.

Within the hour I'm in a Vertibird again with Dusk and Ali and Dogmeat. Dogmeat's tail won't stop wagging and it keeps banging against the leg of my jeans, but I find it comforting. He occasionally looks at me, with a dog-like smile on his face.  
"This'll be his first time with me doing a job," I say to no one in particular.  
"He'll be good in detecting people during the night," Dusk comments and checks her gun.  
"You feeling alright, Ali?" I frown when I see her looking at the ground.  
"Yeah," she sighs, "Just really tired, is all."

When we touch down we're met with a large ensemble of BoS soldiers, some of them relaxing in the afternoon sun, others manning position, what really draws my attention is a large group of around 100 soldiers wearing nothing but pants and work boots digging trenches around four feet deep.  
"What are they doing?" Ali asks me as we walk around 400 metres away from the soldiers and up to a building to go into our sniper's nest.  
"Digging trenches," Dusk replies simply.  
"They're probably digging so they'll only have to have their heads and arms exposed then they shoot, it makes them harder to hit, it's also easier to get supplies through to soldiers if they're generally out of sight from the enemy." She nods and I climb up the stairs and reach a door with the Lyons Pride symbol painted onto it.  
"This is us," I open the door and smile, "Nice."  
We have a perfect view of the soldiers below us, as well as around 300 metres of plain, mostly flat landscape. I dump my stuff onto the floor and crouch down beside the window and start to set up my rifle.  
"I'll take the first watch if you want, Dusk," I say as I load my rifle. I look behind my shoulder and see Dusk and Ali talking together in the corner.  
"Hey, Dusk," I whistle and click my fingers.  
"Huh?" Dusk frowns.  
"I'll take the first watch," I repeat, still kneeling down beside my rifle.  
"Oh… yeah. OK."  
Dogmeat trots up to me and lies down beside me.  
"Hey buddy," I smile and pet him, "You're ready to fight?"  
He wags his tail and looks up at me, before licking my face.

Ali and Dusk go down to try and get some food while I take my shift, giving me a chance to contact Amata.  
"Hey beautiful," I smile when she responds to her radio.  
"What's up Bright Eyes?" she sounds happy as I speak to her.  
I lean against the wall and talk to her for around half an hour. She sounds happy, and I can hear Charlie in the background.  
"What are you doing?"  
"I am just sitting on my ass, staring at half dressed women outside," I smirk and look down at a woman dressed in a sports bra and shorts shovelling into the dirt.  
"You better damn not," she giggles, "I don't want a sex scandal all over Galaxy News."  
"Ah well since you asked so nicely," I smirk into the radio, "But damn some women know how to dig."  
"Ew." Is her only reply.  
"Oh come on, I've seen you crawling though metro tunnels."  
"Yes but that isn't butch," she protests almost with annoyance in her voice.  
I chuckle, but stop dead when I hear a gunshot.  
"Hold on…" I trail off and grab my rifle and look down the scope.  
My eyes train around on the area around me, looking for any figures in the distance. Dusk and I aren't the only snipers in this area, four others are stationed with 500 metres of us. To our backs is Downtown DC, so something could have just wandered to our backs and a soldier on the ground shot it.  
"All clear!" someone shouts, before I hear another shot, then two others in quick succession.  
"Hey," I grab my radio and talk to Amata, "I've gotta go OK?"  
"OK," she says nervously, "Be safe."  
"I'm safe," I promise her. I hear the door swinging open and Dogmeat barks. I spin around, ripping out my revolver as I do so.  
"Stop!" Dusk shouts before I fire.  
"Shit…" I gasp, lowering my gun, "What the hell is going on down there?"  
"Someone just started firing. We thought some idiot fired a stray round!" she gasps out her explanation as she sets up her rifle beside me.  
I don't listen, only focusing on the area directly in front of me. And I zone out again. I can feel my heart thudding slowly, but strongly. My eyes glaze over and I simply stare straight ahead. I feel comfortable, almost at ease. There is nothing, only over 250 BoS soldiers standing on the defensive, ready to fight. I suddenly hear someone shouting, "Clear!" and I snap out of it. I look behind me and see Ali standing behind me, hand on my shoulder with a spare magazine at the ready. She takes her hand away and lets out a sigh of relief, sitting down and leaning against the wall.  
"Probably some idiot raider with a gun, huh?" Ali says uneasily. Dusk and I look at each other, doubt in both of our eyes. Dusk and I both know it was probably the beginning of an attack by the Enclave, it's only a matter of time now. I tell Amata I'm OK, and I continue my patrol until dinner. After dinner, Dusk takes over my watch. I go downstairs and take a walk, Dogmeat trotting beside me. Ten spotlights shine along the ground, searching for enemy soldiers. It's cold, even with my jacket on the cold still bites into my arms and torso.  
"Paladin Daniels," most BoS soldiers acknowledge me as I walk along the base. People are still eating, but there's an uneasy air to everything. Everyone is nervous, and for a good reason. They're all alert, even the people digging the trenches, bathed under the artificial light, look up and give a wary survey of the area before they continue to shovel. Some privates are looking scared out of their minds, and they look warily up at me when I pass them. I look down at Dogmeat, who looks happily back at me, before I hear barking. I look over and see around four dogs trotting over beside a BoS soldier, clicking with his mouth. They have the same vests Dogmeat is wearing, without the Lyons Pride insignia on it of course. Their names are stencilled on the side, something I might consider getting for Dogmeat. Dogmeat trots up to one of the dogs and sniffs him curiously. The dogs are gathered around and I pull Dogmeat aside and bring him back upstairs.  
"What are you two love birds doing?" I smirk as I open the door and see Ali and Dusk talking in a hushed tone.  
"Fuck off, Daniels," Dusk frowns and bitterly flips me off.  
"Aren't you supposed to be on watch?" I tease and take off my jacket, crawling into my sleeping bag that's beside a contained fire Dusk must have set up. Dusk mutters another sting of insults at me and sits by the watch point as Dogmeat lies down beside me. Ali looks warily at me and crawls into her sleeping bag beside me.  
"Goodnight, Daniels," she exhales.  
"Goodnight, Ali," I drone as sleep takes hold of me.


	18. Chapter 18

_December 1__st_

"Come on, what would you do?" Dusk ponders, leaning down beside me as I examine our surroundings using binoculars.  
"I don't know, Dusk," I sigh irritably, "I'm trying to concentrate."  
"What would you do if you walked into a building and saw a guy picking a fight with your best friend and he had a knife?" she asks again.  
"I don't know, Dusk!" I say again. The sun is unforgiving today. I'm only dressed in a shirt and shorts, with my feet bare. Dogmeat is stripped of his vest and he lies in the shade of the room, his tongue hanging out and his water dish almost empty. Ali is out getting breakfast, but Dusk decided to stay and keep me company.  
"So, are you going to tell me what's going on between you and Ali?" I ask and lower my binoculars.  
"Ah the kid's nice enough…" she sighs, "She's nervous about the whole thing, this war I mean."  
"Who isn't?" I chuckle and shrug.  
"You, apparently," she smirks, "Considering what you're willing to put on the line you clearly think that this thing is a sure win."  
"It will be," I nod, "Enclave will be wearing down their resources. We have other states beyond DC and resources aplenty. We'll be fine."  
"Then why don't we have resources coming from them?"  
"Because we're fine the way we are right now."  
"Which is why we aren't making ground and currently sitting on our asses in the backing hot sun?"  
I frown and look at her, "You want to be here, Dusk?"  
"Of course I do. I'm just concerned that… Hell, man. I like you, believe it or not. I just don't feel like having to tell your wife and kids that we're scraping you off the wall from an artillery blast or something."  
"What about you? Do you have family?"  
"Yeah, a brother and some of their kids, but they don't depend on me."  
"I don't want to have this conversation, Dusk," I sigh and return to surveying the area. No contact since the stray rounds fired the night we arrived here, everything's been quiet. Scouts along our west and east side report no Enclave assembling around the area, and we're keeping them on guard. Something's coming. We have enough ammo and food to support us for a few weeks, and some of our guys are getting impatient. We got in around 60 or 70 reinforcements last night when I was asleep, i haven't even seen the guys yet, but they're battle hardened and can fight with the best of them.  
"You going to stay in the Pride after the war?" I ask suddenly, looking over at her.  
Dusk shrugs, "Nah. You?"  
"Nah, I promised Amata that I wouldn't. I think I'd need a few decades of rest after this."  
She nods, "We'll keep in contact, yeah?"  
"Of course," I nod, "Let's just get through the war first."  
She nods. I look down and see the completed trenches, stretching out further than I can see. It looks damn good. There's a step so you can stand up and fire, and at my height only my head would be visible if I fired from there.

I keep watch for a few more hours, watching the sun go down until it reaches around 4PM. I have a pounding headache, with a small pile of water bottles resting beside me.  
Dusk and Ali sit next to each other, playing poker when I hear one single shot. I poke my head out of the window I see everyone suddenly alert. The privates think that it's just a figment of their imagination, but the others give sharp, clear orders for the to hide within cover. I look up and peer through my binoculars. I only have one word for it.  
"Fuck."  
There's a thin, blackish grey line along the front around one or two miles, and some black dots in the air.  
"Contact!" I shout and point ahead of me, "They're coming!"  
It doesn't take more than two precious minutes before everyone is cocked and ready for the oncoming charge. I look ahead, my rifle cleaned and with a full clip, just waiting to be emptied. I'm not scared, I've got this. Dusk is beside me, and Ali is crouched down beside us with a bag of spare ammo at the ready and two spare clips in her hands. In between Dusk and I is a painted white line, showing our designated firing lines. I handle the left side, Dusk handles the left.  
"Ready!" a high ranking Paladin shouts, "On my go, engage the enemy!"  
When the Vertibirds engage I feel a shock of force coming from behind me. I hit the deck late enough to see barrages of rockets soar from behind me and smash into the targets ahead of us. I jolt in shock and Dogmeat growls, clearly ready and primed for action. Most of the Vertibirds explode or start to swivel around, out of control, crashing onto the open ground and erupting into flames. The few that survive the initial barrage are quickly taken down by a second one. Before that, two Vertibirds unleash a few rockets, crashing into some of the building but not causing any real damage. One hits the top of my building and I cover my head to avoid some falling debris, before instantly returning to the front.  
"We've got this Daniels," Dusk says firmly, "We have _got _this."  
I nod and grit my teeth.

What follows is a complete and utter bloodbath. As the Enclave charge towards us, I hear some explosions. Over the past night, again while I was asleep, the BoS engineers used the cover of night to dig some landmines into the ground, marking them with a red stone. The explosions take out a few soldiers, sending them flying into the air in an orgy or twisted metal, blood and guts. The Enclave is met with a hail of bullets, and is chewed up like a bastard. Several miniguns were set up along the sides when the trenches were completed, and they work like magic. I breathe in deeply as I fire, squeezing the trigger, but missing a few shots. I can't see anything from the occasional red spray in the air and the dusk kicking up so it's hard to pick up targets and fire effectively. My mind feels like a different kind of empty, and I need to snap out of it.  
"Come on, Daniels!" Dusk shouts over the gunfire, "Get your head in the game!"  
I reach my hand behind my shoulder, within a second I feel the magazine in my hand. I load it and take in a few deep breaths. I relax, close my eyes, and open them again. I look down my scope and drift off and zone out. I think of memories I have with my family, and instinct takes over. I don't even remember reaching for clips, I don't remember loading them, the only thing my brain registers is the sudden jerk of their bodies as they spring backward and fall onto the ground. Explosions still ring out occasionally, but they're almost drowned out by the roar of our miniguns and our rifles.  
Everyone moves perfectly on the BoS side, people feed bullets into the miniguns, who infinitely roar their song of metallic death, but this is only a side thought. The screams of pain and suffering are drowned out by the giggles coming from Charlie, and Aiden. I feel warm inside, and as I continuously fire again and again and again, I feel a smile crossing my face as I think of the perfection I have waiting for me at home. Within 10 minutes, a valley of dead bodies lie on the ground, but some manage to slip by our assault rifle and minigun barrage. Assault rifles are soon replaced by shotguns, and the rapid fire seems to die down, only to be replaced by beats of shotgun blasts, while the miniguns still grow strong.  
"Dogmeat!" Ali shouts. I look over for a second and see him bounding out of the room and heading down the stairs.  
"Thin it out for him, Daniels!" Dusk orders as she grabs my shoulder, "Don't you dare follow him!"  
My gut clenches and a small ball of fear hits me as I see dog squads pouring into the trenches and charging for the Enclave.  
I look up and see the attack beginning to thin out, and I begin to see that the Enclave begins to look more and more uncertain with their attacks. Most begin to hide behind the crashed, flaming Vertibirds, but something doesn't feel right. I don't fire into the trenches, it's too close quarters, it would be too easy for me to hit a BoS guy or even a dog, so I focus on the incoming charge.  
"Contact! Coming from the South!" our radios holler.  
"Reinforcements! Face south!"  
Around 50 or 60 people originally meant to be fighting the main front line as reserves quickly pivot around and quickly set themselves up for the incoming invasion on the opposite site of the trench. Five miniguns are set up within 100 metres of each other, but this will be easier. From the south is nothing but buildings, so it's easy to find a choke point and keep hold of it. I hear the sound of rapid fire and I hear Ali starting to freak out behind me. The south was our emergency retreat point, and it's currently under fire.  
"Calm down, Ali!" I hear Dusk shout over the gunfire, "I've got- shit!"  
I turn my head and see Dusk falling backward, cursing and clutching her shoulder.  
"Shit," I grunt and drag her out of the line of fire into the other side of the room. Bullets skim along the window and send a wave of splintered wood around us as the Enclave targets the sniping posts.  
"Come on Dusk," I grunt and sit her up against the wall. Ali is lying against the wall, covering her head in her hands as splinters rain down on top of her.  
Blood is pouring out of the bullet wound in her shoulder, and she hisses in pain.  
I fish into my bag and grab a small bottle of vodka, "Drink."  
She drinks in a very small effort to dull the pain and I hear an explosion over our heads, making Ali scream out in panic. I fling myself on top of Dusk so the debris doesn't get into her shoulder.  
I get off her and rip open her shirt so I can see the bloody wound. I dump my canteen onto the wound and do my best to clean away the blood. I turn her over and see no exit wound.  
"I'm sorry, Dusk," I sigh and take out my knife from my belt.  
"Make it quick," she grunts. I slowly ease my knife in, and her body goes stiff as she holds back moans in pain. Ali rushes over and holds her down as I twist it inside her. She lets out a scream as I fling out the bullet after around two minutes of carefully searching. I hurriedly bandage her shoulder and give her the vodka bottle, "You're fine, Dusk."  
She gives me a grateful look and I nod, before slipping her hat over her head, "Your turn for a ruined hat."  
The gunfire still rages on, but I don't know if there are any Enclave sniper posts looking for us. I slowly ease the hat up for a few seconds and move it around to simulate breathing, but no gunshot. I poke my head up and quickly duck it down again, nothing happens. I ready my rifle and look outside. What seems like hundreds of dead bodies are lying on the ground in front of me. The trench line is still in close quarters fighting, but the miniguns have fallen silent from the north.  
"Listen," I rush over and put a hand on Dusk's good shoulder, "I'm going to help on the south, are you two good here?"  
She nods rapidly and I move her from the sticky red puddle of blood onto somewhere cleaner, "Go."  
I run across the hall and find a window facing the south. The minigunners mow down dozens of people in a tight choke point. It is stunning to see so many people dying, but I don't have time to be scared or worried. I grab a pair of binoculars and survey the area, looking for snipers. The buildings around us have been marked off that were too filled with rubble to have a sniper point.  
"Goddamit," I grunt when I hear the crack of a sniper rifle. I spot a bright flash of green soaring down onto the building. I poke my head out and grin when I see the source of green being fired from a small window. Within a second I take him down and I look down and see the stream of Enclave soldiers beginning to slow down, and the gunfire slowly stops. I look up and see one sniper pointing his gun at me from below. I shoot, but he does at the same time. I duck down and the green goo smashes into the window frame. I look up and see some of the green stuff dripping down. One hits my neck and I scream out in pain as it sears into my neck. It feels like someone has pressed a cigarette into my skin. I spring away from the window and slap at my neck and try to get it away. I'm only rewarded by burning my fingers. The pain intensifies and I hear footsteps rushing in.  
"Daniels?" Ali gasps.  
"Get it off!" I beg and rub my neck. I feel like my neck is on fire. I feel water being spilt onto it, but it doesn't do anything. The burning doesn't stop, it only keeps going.  
"The green stuff is gone, Daniels," Ali says gently, "You've got a burn in your neck."  
"I fucking know that!" I shout irritably, "Get some fucking burn cream or something!"  
My body begs to get away from it, but my mind stops me.  
"It hurts so bad…" I swear. I stumble onto my feet, clutching my neck.  
"Come on, Daniels."  
I lie down beside Dusk, starting to get used to the pain, and look over at her.  
"I can't believe you didn't get yourself killed, Daniels," she chuckles.  
"Go fuck yourself, I was gone for two seconds."  
"It's easy to die in a few seconds."  
"If you two are done making out, I'm going to go and get some medical supplies for you two," Ali grunts as she grabs a bag.  
Dusk nods, "We'll be fine."

While Ali's gone, Dogmeat trots up the stairs. His mouth and chest is covered in blood, and he whines and nudges my arm.  
"Hey, Dogmeat," I smile and pat his head, "How're you doing, pal?"  
He looks totally exhausted and rests his head on my left thigh. I check him for injuries, he only has a few little cuts. I look at the time, it's 6:30 in the goddamn PM.  
"Goddamit," I groan and lean against the wall, "We probably won't be able to sleep tonight."  
"We'll get reinforcements in," she grunts and repositions herself against the wall so she can look at me, "…Daniels?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Thanks for getting the bullet out," she sighs, "Look… can I tell you something?"  
"What is it?"  
Dusk turns to me and exhales in a drunken chuckle, I can smell the alcohol on her breath.  
"Ali and I… we got into a fight with an Enclave civvie."  
I scrunch my nose up and turn my head away to avoid the smell of her breath and take a drink of water that I desperately need from Ali's canteen, "So?"  
"So," she sighs and scratches her , "We kinda… stabbed a guy."  
I spit my water out all over the floor, temporarily ignoring the splitting pain in my neck as the muscles tense.  
"_What_?!" I shout, "Oh my god!"  
"Keep your voice down!" she whispers loudly.  
"Dusk I… Jesus!"  
"Look, he pulled the knife on us!" she says irritably, "What was I supposed to do?!"  
I run a hand through my hair, cursing when my fingers brush against the burn mark, "Look… _never _tell anyone this."  
"No shit," she laughs, "We did some other stuff too that-"  
"Nope!" I shout and shove a hand in front of her face, "I don't want to hear it!"

Ali walks up to us and I look down, hissing when I move my neck down.  
"Ow…" I hiss when she puts the cold burn cream on my neck.  
"Stop complaining," she sighs and slowly massages the cream in, "How bad does it hurt on a scale of one to ten?"  
"Twenty," I groan whenever additional pressure is put on my wound, "Just… please Ali, stop touching it."  
I sit against the wall with Dogmeat as the adrenaline of the past few hours starts to wind down and I'm met with fatigue and exhaustion. My eyelids are heavy and I cringe at the thought of having to be alert for the rest of the night. I crawl onto my sleeping beg, after moving it so it faces away from a window, and within minutes I'm out.

_December 2__nd_

I wake up to the all too familiar feeling of Dogmeat licking at my face. I open my eyes and recoil, rolling away and rubbing the spit off.  
"C'mon, Dogmeat," I mumble tiredly.  
"Afternoon, Daniels," Dusk says cheerfully as she pokes at the fire.  
"Afternoon?" I groan and roll back onto my back, immediately regretting the decision as my neck twinges from the burn.  
"Ali kept applying burn cream on you while you were asleep. It is impossible to wake you up, by the way."  
"Yes, Ama- OH _shit_!" I curse and sit bolt upright and start looking for my radio.  
"Don't panic," she says calmly, "Amata radioed in last night at some point. I picked up for you, I said you were fine. GNR's been broadcasting about the 'battle' all fucking day. How we wiped the floor with the bastards."  
I yawn and nod half-heartedly in agreement, "How's your arm?"  
"I'll live," she shrugs.  
I run a hand through my hair and stand up, "Where's Ali?"  
"Fuck if I know," she shrugs again, "The girl wanders off sometimes to take a walk, snuck off while I was keeping watch, the cheeky little pixie."  
I give Dusk a look, and her eyes flicker away from mine for a second.  
"Dusk…"  
"Look. I'm sorry, Daniels. I know I let you down and-"  
"Don't give me that patronising bullshit," I snap, keeping my voice down, "You killed a civvie! If anybody finds out aside from me-"  
"No one will find out," Dusk says firmly, "We made sure."  
My gut clenches and my face turns red.  
"Look, I didn't walk up and do it," she whispers loudly, "He was going to stab Ali!"  
"Then restrain him!" I almost shout.  
"Shh!" Dusk shushes me, "Look, if you don't tell anybody, and Ali and I don't, everything will turn out OK."  
I groan and bury my face in my hands.  
"Come on, Daniels," she begs me softly, "I can't lose the Pride for this."  
"I'm not going to tell anybody, Dusk," I sigh.  
She doesn't smile at me, but I can see the gratitude in her eyes.  
"I'm going to go call my family," I snatch my radio away from my bag and walk downstairs.

I spend around an hour talking to Amata, assuring her that I'm fine and _not_ telling her about Dusk and Ali's incident at Rivet City. After that I walk downstairs and into the open, which is teaming with BoS soldiers. The infirmary is packed with injured soldiers, some unconscious, some very much awake and wailing in pain as they're treated. No amputations, though, from what I can see. Lucky bastards. I look across and see a small line of around 15 bodies in sacks, with names delicately written on the fronts with the BoS emblem below them. I shake my head and sigh. I look behind my shoulder and smile when I see Dogmeat at my feet. Dusk or Ali must have given him a bath because he doesn't have a speck of blood on him now. I crouch down and pet him, but his head turns and whimpers. He trots over and sits down beside a smaller sack. I frown and walk over and realise one of the dogs got killed. I was surprised, as horrible a thought as it is I expected more dog squad casualties. A dog doesn't really combat a shotgun that well, but Washington seems to know what he's doing.  
"I know, buddy," I sigh and scratch behind his ears, "I know."

Reinforcements arrive by a few dozen men before dinner time, and I get told that Downtown DC is now heavily fortified by some soldiers serving from the west. I'm anxious at the idea of leaving some of our western bases relatively light, but I get another set of news that surprises me. Enclave's President, John Henry Eden, publically announced today, after suffering a two major defeats in a short amount of time, one of those being failure to liberate a crucial supply line to one of his most important bases, that he wants to call a cease fire for December 24th to December 26th. It's a nice thought, but none of us believe him for a second. Having Christmas Eve to Boxing Day off would be almost impossible. We have a firm grip on Downtown DC and along the Midwest. The north is Enclave territory, teaming with an array of military bases, sniper nests, and Enclave settlements. Along the far west they have a small string of bases too, but I overheard from Lyons that there were already plans to attack them and have a firm hold of everything west of Megaton. Calling a ceasefire could open up Enclave attacks and losing bases that we've already lost a lot of men taking, undoing months of work for the sake of putting our feet up for a few days.

I eat dinner with Ali and Dusk almost silently. I'm pretty sure that Ali knows that I know about what happened in Rivet City, because she finds it difficult to look me in the eye. I take the night watch, I really don't want to get out of the habit of being awake for long periods of time. I sit down by the window and rest my feet against the window frame, holding my rifle in my hands with the stock resting against my thigh. After half an hour I look over my shoulder and see Ali asleep, despite Dusk's snoring. I pick up my radio and say goodnight to Aiden and Amata, Charlie having already gone to bed. I start to feel homesick as the night drags on, longing to be back in bed at home, but I've got a duty here. I think about the idea of being home for Christmas, as I rest my feet but keep my eyes on the surroundings. It seems selfish, but knowing Lyons she'll probably send me home for it. Not that I mind at all. I rest my forehead against the side of the barrel of the rifle, deep in thought. The cold brushes against my front, conflicting with the warm fire at my back. It keeps me at an odd state of alert, something that I desperately need.

I stay awake throughout the night until early morning, when I hear Ali beginning to stir and eventually wake up Dusk. Halfway through breakfast I get a radio message from Lyons that calls us back to base. On the way back to the Citadel on the vertibird, I turn on GNR. Three Dog hollers in between songs about the BoS's victory, triumphantly calling it "The Battle for DC". The three of us roll our eyes at the hyperactive DJ's cheering and listen to his shouting and hollering all the way home.

When we reach the Lyons' Den, Lyons herself is in a fit of rage. She's pouring over maps and she gives us an irritated look as we walk in.  
"What?" Dusk and I frown.  
"Not you two," she mutters, "That idiot on the radio."  
"What of him?" I frown and open a bottle of water.  
"GNR is our primary communications post in Downtown DC. That radio antennae that you set up to work across the Wasteland in 2277 is used now as our primary communications array."  
"…And…?"  
"_And _if that idiot doesn't shut his mouth badmouthing the Enclave, they're going to wage an assault on GNR."  
"…_And…_?"  
"_**And **_we don't have unlimited soldiers, Daniels!" Lyons shouts at me, "Do _you_ want to spend weeks on end patrolling a radio station?!"  
I shrug, "Sure, if the pay is good."  
Lyons lets out a frustrated groan and throws her hands up in the air. I chuckle and look down at the maps. "Argh… fuck," I hiss and rub my right eye and drink some more water. I think I must have gotten something in my eye a few days ago, it's been driving me crazy for a few days now.  
"Daniels, you and Dusk are moving to Springvale for a few weeks. We'll be launching a westerly offensive."  
"Aye aye," I grin.  
"And I trust there will be no visits to Megaton while you're on duty, Daniels," Lyons says firmly.  
"No ma'am," I smile and shake my head.


	19. Chapter 19

**Hey guys! I realise that it can be confusing keeping up with all the changes and stuff, so, I used my (very)basic Fireworks skills to create a map for you guys. Just go onto my profile, scroll down, there'll be a key and everything. So go check it out!**

* * *

_December 6__th_

Dusk and I catch the Vertibird, without Ali or Dogmeat this time. We arrive at Springvale at around 8PM and I shuffle my feet awkwardly when someone issues us our barracks. Home is literally a half an hour walk away, easily 10 or 15 if I sprint. Dusk seems to pick up on this too, because she tosses her bag back at me when I put it onto our bunk bed and shoves my BoS cap back onto my head.  
"I'll cover for you," she smiles, "I promise."  
I look back uncertainty, making Dusk chuckle, "Go! I swear to you, you won't get found out, it's probably OK for you to be doing it anyway for all I know."  
I grin and instantly turn around, hoofing it back to Megaton.

I walk into town, my bag still slung over my shoulders, and make an immediate left. I walk up the ramp, barely containing my excitement as I walk up to my house. I turn the knob, but it's locked. I wriggle at it and curse to myself; looking at my Pipboy and realising it's around 10 at night, of course the door is locked. Not wanting to wake up Charlie and Aiden by knocking, I rummage through my bag and find my key. Unlocking it, I slowly open the door and poke my head inside. It's pitch black and I take a step in. Within a second I'm grabbed by my jacket and shoved onto the floor on my back. "Don't you fucking move," I hear Amata growl into the darkness.  
"Shit!" I shout as I hear the click of a shotgun, "No- Amata it's me!" I hear a gasp and the light turns on, revealing the barrel of a shotgun inches from my face and Amata wielding it.  
I steady my breathing and look awkwardly up at her, "Um… hi?"  
Amata tosses the shotgun away with a grin on her face, "Holy shit!" she grins and hoists me up. I jump to my feet and she pulls me into a hug.  
"What are you doing here?" she grins and kisses my cheek.  
"Can't tell," I chuckle and hug her close to me, "Nice defensive job, Daniels."  
She chuckles and shrugs her shoulders, "I try. That cap covers your face pretty good in the dark."  
I nod and somehow start to feel awkward in my own home. My entrance wasn't as smooth as I imagined it to be, but Amata stops my train of thought by clapping her hands together, "Guess what?"  
"What?"  
Amata moves up and picks up a few envelopes, "Because of your out_standing _service for the Brotherhood of Steel, you have a few job offers once the war's over, in Megaton of course."  
"Really?" I frown and rest a palm against the table.  
"Yeah, it pays well. Things like a store guard, a caravan organizer, those sort of things."  
"Huh…" I frown and looks through one envelope.  
"Only thing is, you have to essentially accept it now, because the jobs are open to BoS soldiers when they leave service to take it and that includes wounded soldiers that cannot serve anymore."  
I frown and look up at her, "But… what about the people leaving service and don't have jobs."  
"There's hundreds of them, Winter, I assure you."  
I sigh and Amata flicks the envelopes closer to me, "Come on, think of the kids."  
"Ow. Low blow," I chuckle and sit down at the table, "Alright… I'll have a look at 'em."  
"Promise?" she questions with a firm tone in her voice.  
"I promise," I smile up at her.  
"I'm gonna go to bed,"  
"Go nuts, I'll have a look at these. And…" I look up at her.  
"Yeah?" she looks over her shoulder as she leaves the kitchen.  
"Thank you for not shooting me."  
She giggles and puts the shotgun away on the rack, turning on the safety and making sure it's out of reach of tiny little hands, "It was tempting…"  
I laugh quietly and look across from her to the radio resting on the kitchen counter, "You've been listening to GNR?"  
She nods and I smirk, "Even 'the Battle for Downtown DC' reports?"  
"Forgive me if I'm nervous," she mutters.  
"All you need to know you get from me, OK? Three Dog makes it seem worse than it actually is."  
Amata nods and rests her forehead against my temple, "How long are you here for?"  
"In Springvale? I don't know… probably another week then I'll be moving west."  
"What about Christmas?"  
"You want me here?"  
"Duh."  
I nod, "I'll see what I can do."

I leave early in the morning at around five thirty. It's relatively quiet in Springvale, unless you go into the main building which is filled to the brim with Enclave POW's. I give the area a wide birth and instead meet up with Dusk who's in the middle of trying to shoot a crow out of the sky.  
"What the hell are you doing?" I frown and look at her.  
"What does it look like?" she chuckles.  
I sigh irritably as she misses again. I whip out my revolver and pick it off with one shot.  
"Damn!" Dusk laughs as the bird falls onto the ground, "Good shot, Daniels!"  
"Scope ain't good for flying crows and you know that." I grunt and load a bullet into the spare chamber. I like to keep my sidearm fully loaded in case of emergency. This being especially important considering I don't have my rifle at the ready.  
"What's the plan for today?" I sigh as I tuck my revolver into its holster.  
Dusk looks around and keeps her voice low, covering her mouth as she does so, "We'll probably be issued orders before the 10th. Most likely it'll be the western bases."  
I frown, then nod, "Yeah. Yeah, alright."

I spend a few hours with Dusk working on our marksmanship. Dusk will throw a clay pigeon into the air, it would be my job to shoot it. The base is teaming with recruits, with some gathering around to watch us. The stupid inside me decides to show off, so I use my revolver. Dusk tosses one in the air and I casually shoot it with one hand. She throws two, then three, and it hit every single one. Dusk proves to be just a deadly with her accuracy. People cheer and grin like idiots when I start to shoot with my non dominant hand, then make it deliberately difficult to shoot. I get one recruit to run out into the open with one clay pigeon and throw it into the air. I use my rifle for this, standing up as well. He throws it into the air and I make chalk rain down onto him within a second.  
"Shoot it off his hand!" one private cheers.  
Unfortunately, the idea catches on to the crowd, and they start cheering. The private raises the clay pigeon and I shake my head, "No. No guys, it's too dangerous."  
"She's right," Lyons says behind me, "What the hell are you doing, Daniels?"  
I turn around and scratch the back of my head awkwardly, "Practising my shooting, ma'am."  
Lyons is dressed in Power Armour, and stands around half a foot taller than me because of it.  
"Please don't allow the volunteers to help you in the future," she says firmly, "Dusk, Daniels, follow me."

"What did I tell you about showing off?" Lyons hisses bitterly to Dusk as I walk behind them.  
"Hey the kid did most of the showing off," she shrugs.  
Lyons gives me a look and I shrug sheepishly with a small smile on my face.  
"We aren't in the Lyons Pride because we show off," Lyons sighs, "The kids that join up here don't need to be shooting trick shots like a bunch of idiots and getting themselves shot."  
Lyons walks into an office in the main building with us far behind.  
I groan and rub my head tiredly as I walk inside.  
"You still have headaches, Daniels?" Dusk frowns, "You want an pill to take or something?"  
I shake my head and look at her, "Wait… why are you even here? Your shoulder is still busted."  
"Don't even try," Dusk says firmly, "I'm taking Ali's position for this one. Ain't no way I'm letting some private be shaky while feeding you ammo."  
"No but a woman with a bad shoulder can do just fine," I sigh, "Come on Dusk…"  
"Dusk and I have already had this argument," Lyons sighs, "She's going with you."  
"You're my partner, kid," Dusk says firmly, "You dragged my ass out of fire and patched me up when your ass was exposed. I've gotta pay you back for that."  
"Stop calling me 'kid', and we'll call it even," I smile and nod at her.  
"Look," Lyons sighs and opens up a map. I look down for a second, before stumbling back and holding my head in a searing pain.  
"Shit!" I curse and scrunch my eyes tight. I feel like someone's holding a lit match against the right side of my forehead.  
"Jesus!" Dusk crouches down beside me, "What's wrong, Daniels?"  
I hiss in pain, my body slightly rigid from shock.  
"My eye is killing me," I grunt and look up at them with only my left eye open. Lyons and Dusk look at each other, before Lyons crouches down beside me, "Maybe you two should sit this one out."  
"No!" I say quickly, "Just… let me rest for a second."  
"You've been doing it a lot, Daniels," Dusk comments, "You scratch at it in your sleep."  
"I do?"  
"Come on… we might as well take you to the infirmary to at least have it looked at."

I find myself lying on my back on a flat, metal bed in the infirmary, in a foul mood as a nurse positions a x-ray machine over my head. After half an hour and a few pills later, the dull pain was only going away over time, and was bound to return again.  
I'm dragged to different rooms around the infirmary, lying down and feeling above all miserable. After an oddly, earthly calm examination by several nurses and doctors, I'm left alone in a small private room. I sit on the bed, leaning my head against the wall and listening to the total silence around me. The sound of a ticking clock suddenly invades my train of thought and I smell something funny in the air. I look around and my head feels heavy again. I sniff the air a few times, before my eyes widen. Gas!  
I spring to my feet and charge shoulder first into the door. I shove my jacket up to my nose as I ram against the door. My body goes limp as the gas slowly seeps through the fibres of my jacket. I cough and slump against the wall.

_December 12__th_

I groan and open my eyes. I bat my eyes tiredly and look around. Everything is too bright to see and it gives me a splitting headache. After a few minutes my vision comes back into focus and I look around. Bright white walls surround me, everything is bare. The only thing that is in the room is the medical equipment, but when I glance down I see Amata asleep beside me, on the floor wrapped in blankets and a pillow under her head. I look at my body and see me dressed in what looks like paper boxers and a tanktop.  
"Amata," I croak, "Amata...?"  
Amata has her back to me. I look beside me on the bedside table and see a small, thin book. I call Amata's name a final time, before flailing my arm to grab the book. I manage to grab it and toss it at her. It lands on her shoulder and she suddenly startles awake. She looks around and looks up at me, her eyes meeting mine for a few seconds.  
"You're awake," she whispers and stands up quickly.  
"I am," I croak with a hint of sarcasm and a faint smile. My throat is raw and feels like sandpaper, which makes my voice sound hoarse and shitty sounding.

"What happened?" I croak.  
"Do you… do you know who I am?"  
"Yeah, Amata… why?"  
"What do you remember?" she runs a hand through her hair anxiously.  
"Hey!" I say loudly, which comes off as a high pitched, hoarse croak, "Your wedding ring's gone!"  
Amata's warm fingers move down to hold my hand. She brings my hand up and presses my fingers against her lips, "Who am I married, to?"  
"Me," I shout irritably, though my throat still hurts like crazy.  
She nods and tears prick into her eyes.  
"Amata what's happened to me?"  
Amata shakes her head silently, closing her eyes with tears most likely spilling against them, "Just... let the doctors look at you, then we'll talk, alright?"

After an hour of being poked and prodded at by doctors and scientists, they finally draw to the conclusion that I don't have any brain damage and leave Amata and I alone to "talk about things". I have a gaping scar on my head from a surgery the doctors don't feel like talking about. I give them a look but Amata says stiffly that I shouldn't be arguing to them. The doctors shaved off the part of my hair around it too, roughly the size of my palm. Thankfully though, Amata has a beanie for me to wear and I happily shove it onto my head, with no intention of taking it off in public until that part of my hair is grown back.

Amata sits on the foot of my bed and wrings her hands together awkwardly. She's trying to think of what to say and how to say it, because her eyes move about and she opens her mouth open and shuts it a few times.  
"Do you remember when you were a POW in the Enclave's hands?" she says nervously.  
"Yeah," I frown.  
"Well… The thing is…" she sighs and brushes her thumb against my palm, "You were… operated on."  
"Operated on- the _fuck _you mean I was operated on?!" I sigh irritably, though I immediately regret snapping at Amata, I'm irritated at the tip toeing around the subject.  
Amata doesn't sound pissed off, in fact, she doesn't react at at.  
"Am I dying or something?" I ask anxiously.  
She rapidly shakes her head, "No, no you're fine, thank god."  
"Then why was I gassed?"  
"Because, somehow, you… you essentially had um… a recording device in your head."  
I spit out the water I was drinking and cough, "What?"  
"You had a running camera in your head."  
"Bullshit!" I cough and wipe off the water around my mouth.  
"They pulled some surveillance shit right out of your head, honey," she almost shouts at me, "I don't know what to call it! It was barely the size of your thumbnail and we found a camera lens projecting out of your right eye, and wiring that led down your back and into your Pip-boy as a power source."  
"Someone was _watching _us?"  
"It's safe to assume, yes."  
"Twenty four hours a day?"  
"Yes ma'am."  
I'm quiet for a few moments, before my face freezes and I look up at Amata…  
"Oh no."  
"Yeah… somehow I thought of that too…" she rubs her eyes tiredly and shudders at the thought.  
A small smile crosses my face and I cover it with my mouth, "Oh my fucking god."

I burst out laughing, which makes Amata whack my shoulder, hard, "What is so funny?!"  
"Oh, I'm angry," I giggle and cover my eyes, "Just…" I can't finish my sentence before I burst into another fit of laughter.  
"Yeah well Dusk had the exact same train of thought," she says irritably, "She's hoping a holotape comes out about it."  
"Is it all gone?" I stifle my giggles and eventually calm down.  
"The doctors scoured every square inch of your body. They didn't find anything, though just to be safe they removed your appendix."  
"Why did they do that?"  
Amata shrugs, "They told me it was a ticking time bomb, I tried saying you never had any problems with it but they took it out anyway."  
I shiver and Amata rolls her eyes, "I know…"  
"Goddammit… how much intel did they pick up because of me?" I sigh.  
"This isn't your fault," she says firmly, "This is entirely not your fault. You didn't do anything."  
"Why did they gas me?"  
"Because they didn't want the Enclave to know what's happening with you. The gas put you out for a day apparently. They gave you the surgery, got the stuff out of your head, and you… took a while to wake up."  
Amata's voice catches and I hold her hand

After a few hours of Amata answering most of the questions I ask, Lyons and Dusk come in with uneasy looks on their faces.  
"How are you doing, Daniels?" Lyons sighs and sits down beside my bed.  
I scowl, "I'll be fine once I get back on my feet. What are we doing about all of the leaked intel?"  
"We're changing our strategies," Lyons says firmly, "We didn't get ambushed or anything, worst thing that happened was that our guys ran into an empty building and were scratching their heads for a few hours."  
I sigh in relief and Dusk chuckles to herself.  
Lyons leans forward and nods, "So… while you were 'gone', we started to look at some of the Enclave documents you brought back with you."  
"Yeah?"  
"We'll be issuing a statement on December 21st. We aren't interested in negotiating a surrender or peace treaty, especially after our DC victories. We were thinking about it, until we found out that they're bugging our soldiers."  
"Is the assault on the West still on?"  
She nods, "We've put it back a week or two, so we can adjust to any potential intel leaking, considering that intel you looked at sent your camera off and you started swearing like a goddamn sailor."  
I laugh, immediately wincing and rubbing my sore throat when it aches.  
Doctors come in while Dusk and Lyons are still there and they say uneasily that they need me to stand up. My legs have been sore for a while.  
Dusk helps me up, despite my reluctance and overall embarrassment. She holds me up by my waist and, by the doctors' orders, slowly takes her arms away from me. I'm wonky on my feet from being in bed for almost a week, but I regain my footing and stand by myself. I feel stupid as I take a few steps, them thinking I'm weak when in all reality I feel fine. After only a few seconds I'm back into bed with Amata sitting down beside me.  
"Where're the kids?" I frown as I keep drinking water.  
"Your Dad's watching them," she says assuringly.  
"How long have you been here?"  
"I went and saw them last night then I slept here, I should go and talk to them after this."  
I smile and nod, "I miss them."  
"You're going to be fighting in the West?" she murmurs as she lies down beside me.  
I suck in air between my teeth and shrug, "It'll be a quick campaign. Once this is done I'll apply for a two week leave. I think we should go somewhere, just the two of us."  
"I can't dump Aiden and Charlie on Madison and your father for two weeks, they'll kill us."  
"Come on…" I smile when she slides my wedding ring back on.  
"You weren't allowed anything metal. It was difficult enough around your leg."  
I smile at my ring and shrug, "But we got out OK."  
"I'll think about it," she sighs and stands up, "I'm gonna go look after the kids, you'll be OK here?"  
I nod and flick my wrist at the door, "Go, tell 'em I love 'em, alright?"

_December 16__th_

After two days in the hospital I go home to Megaton. This morning, after an early start and a quick breakfast, I kiss Amata goodbye and walk down to Springvale. I walk into Lyons' office and she looks expectantly up at me as I walk in.  
"…What?" I frown.  
"Take off your hat, Daniels. It's a sign of respect," she frowns.  
"Nuh uh," I laugh and sit down, "Sorry Lyons, but I look like a freak without this thing concealing my hair."  
"Off," she says firmly.  
I groan and slide it off my head, revealing ugly stitches and a partially shaved head.  
"You feeling OK?" she asks as I try to even it out.  
"I'd feel better if people who walked past this door didn't have the option to stare at me."  
Lyons smiles and rolls her eyes, "Fine."  
I put the beanie back on and position it so tufts of my hair poke out on it, "What's going on?"  
"We're locking down Megaton and Springvale," she sighs, "We've had six months' worth of ammo and food, we'll be blocking everything coming in and out. We really don't want any spies coming in and finding about the invasion."  
"We can do that?"  
"90% of Megaton's civilians are BoS. We'll give them one day to leave if they want to, but I think a BoS blanket of safety will be something they can't pass up."  
"Alright." I sigh, "What am I doing?"  
"You are taking it easy until invasion day, just work on your marksmanship and if you're feeling even the _slightest _bit sick, you come to us for some medicine and go home, understand?"  
"Yeah," I sigh and stand up.  
"Be careful, Daniels," Lyons says firmly, "I want to get through this war without losing a comrade."  
I nod, "I'll do my best Lyons."

By 11PM that night all of the roads into Megaton are blocked off, searchlights are sweeping around it and the gate to the actual town is locked, with only authorised personnel allowed in. More and more troops are arriving in Vertibirds, carrying supplies and ammo. Dusk and I are eating dinner with Lyons in her office when she spreads a map out on the table. In an act of slight humiliation, Lyons gets me to pull my hat down over my right eye, just to be safe while she talks. The Capital Wasteland is split down the horizontal middle, marked with a blue and red zones that are both equal in size.  
"This will be the Capital Wasteland by January 1st if this invasion succeeds," she says and points at it, "On December 22nd we'll begin our invasion."  
On the far right hand side of the map are three big, red circles, "These are the three main bases I want taken. I want this one," the one closest to us, "taken by Christmas Day. We'll have the majority of our invasion force charging at it, but we'll send in some Vertbirds before then to try and soften up the area a little bit. We'll send in two dog squads who'll take down officers, then we'll hit them with everything we've got. You and Dusk will be hanging back around a mile from the point. Dusk _will not _be on service as a sniper, but three other sniper divisions will be there as well. Dusk will be there _only _to feed you ammo, do you understand? If I hear anything about Dusk holding a gun for any reason other than it's a complete emergency, or Daniels getting up at _any _point to try and advance when I do not say so, I will make you run so many laps your head'll be spinning. Understand?"  
"Yes'm," I nod.

_December 22__nd_

I stand in Lyons' office at 4AM in the morning, with a clean rifle and a bag full of ammo. Dusk carries her own bag and keeps a pistol to her hip. Lyons is dressed in Power Armour, but I'm dressed in jeans and my Lyons' Pride jacket with boots, a clear difference in armour effectiveness.  
"Are you two ready?" Lyons grunts as she stands up, clutching an assault rifle.  
"I'm good," I nod and look at Dusk, who nods back at me.  
"Alright," she smiles and places a whisky bottle and smacks it onto the table, "This is our drink waiting for us when we get back. The three of us are getting back alive, alright?"  
"We've survived worse already," Dusk smiles.  
"Good luck you two," Lyons smiles and shakes both of our hands, "Stay close to each other, OK?"

We don't take vertibirds to the first objective, so we can clear out a few patrolling squads so we don't get flanked. Dusk and I start to jog ahead with a group of foot soldiers around us.  
Dusk starts to wince as we run, the straps to her bag hitting her shoulder.  
"I thought you said that thing was healed?" I frown, turning around and running backwards with ease to look at her.  
"Eyes forward, Daniels," she pants.  
I chuckle and begin to appreciate Kodiak for the intense training sessions he dragged me through. While Dusk struggles behind me, I keep jogging at a brisk, easily kept pace. I reach our point at 4:15. I lie down on my stomach and flip open my scope, now with a night vision scope. Dusk sits down beside me and gets to work laying out our ammo. We're roughly around 800 metres from the main base, up on a ridge and difficult to see in the dark. I lean my head down and lift up my beanie so it doesn't cover my forehead.  
"Are you ready?" Dusk whispers in the dark as the rest of the soldiers get into their positions and are ready to charge.  
"Yeah."  
Lyons radios in the vertibirds. And then we wait.

The silence is gut wrenching. I scan around the area, looking at the skeleton crew lazily patrolling the area. I frown and shuffle awkwardly.  
"Here," Dusk says quietly and pulls out a blanket, "If there's anything I hate, it's having a rock jabbing into your stomach while you're trying to aim."

We both hear the distant, dull whirr of the Vertibirds after five minutes, armed to the teeth with rockets and miniguns. Ten of them, one eighth of our force, charges towards the base and releases their barrage as they approach their target. They rockets soar through the air and plow into the building, sending a powerful heatwave that's almost suffocating. Within an instant the BoS is charging towards them, allowing the vertibirds to finish delivering their rocket barrage while the soldiers on the ground close in the 800 metre gap.  
"Eyes open for other snipers or rocket teams, Daniels," Dusk says loudly over the fire while wielding binoculars.  
"I've got 'em…" I trail off and curl my finger around the trigger.

What follows is five hours of the most brutal fighting I ever had to survive. I'm firing a round every five seconds, the base being _far _more fortified than I had initially hoped. The sniper divisions stand our ground, doing our best to thin it out for the soldiers below. As the two sides clash and wrestle for control, the dog squads are called in. Dozens of dogs storm the compound, sinking their teeth into officers' necks and arms. I swear as another mag runs out and I fuel another one, just as a green bolt flies over my head. I duck down for a few seconds and look up to see a storm of green raining down from the windows as the clock strikes 9AM.  
The BoS is fighting with either assault rifles or laser rifles. Both of these have the possibility for the shot to not have a lethal effect. Plasma does. If one little blob falling onto my neck sent me into disorienting pain, an entire shot to any part of your body is a killer. Even with power armour, the super-heated plasma eats through it and sears into their bodies.  
I instantly move up, all of the sniper divisions firing at the source of the plasma. We put them down within 10 minutes, but the casualty toll is startling and we begin to feel exposed. We hold our own just fine, but our numbers are beginning to thin out and I _really _don't want to get hit by plasma again.

Within 30 minutes, reinforcements for both sides have arrived. I keep firing, nailing stun or killer shots with almost every shot. As 10AM rolls around, my eyes become more and more fatigued. I have a numb feeling in my head and I become frustrated with my comrades. We aren't making any ground. We aren't losing, we haven't fallen back, in fact, we're probably dealing more damage. Our dog squads tackle down soldiers with a skill that makes it easy to shoot them down. The dogs are trained to pin them down and snap their teeth at a soldier's face. My fatigue mixed with frustration makes my movements more slow, making my shots slightly less accurate.  
We make it past the main base compound by midday, and Dusk and I are running on emergency ammo supplies. The actual area we need to capture is only around a quarter captured, the main compound being our main objective. There are other outposts that we need to capture before we move on to the other two main objectives, but we're doing OK. The second the order to disengages comes through our radio I collapse onto the blanket in a heap, My arms are stiff from the position they've been kept in, and my shoulder is in agony from the stock ramming against my shoulder these past eight hours. The Enclave retreated back, though they're bound to try and take the place back.  
"You OK, Daniels?" Dusk looks down at me as I roll onto my back.  
I snatch my canteen from my bag and guzzle the entire thing down.  
Dusk rolls her eyes and helps me up with her spare hand. I get up onto my feet and walk cautiously down to the compound. Soldiers are already dealing with the dead, and I search for Lyons amongst the crowd. I find her, thankfully, alive and sitting against the wall.  
"You OK, Lyons?" I pant and sit down beside her. Her power armour is painted with blood and when I put a hand on her shoulder it comes away red.  
"I thought we weren't going to make it," she shakes her head, "Those fucking plasma guns."  
"We'll use them. Why can't we? I mean, how hard can it be?"  
She sighs and takes off her gloves, "I don't know Daniels… Shit… I am so tired and I still have to be up for a few more hours trying to lock this place down."  
"We'll be fine," I smile and hand her my canteen. She refuses a drink and I look around, "Have we locked down the interior?"  
"Of course," she grunts and smiles at me, "You looked good out there, proud to have you in my squad, Daniels."  
I smile and nod at her, tipping my canteen toward her before I drink. Lyons and I sit together for a few minutes in silence as we try to gain some rest. My head aches and so does my neck, but I stay strong as I stand up and turn to Lyons, "Where do you want me?"  
Lyons smiles up at me, her exhausted blue eyes showing some happiness, "Go see what's eating at Dusk."  
I look over my shoulder and see Dusk kicking stones with her boot. I nod and trot over to her, my gun still in my hands.  
"Dusk?" I reach over and grip her good shoulder. She turns to me with a lost expression on her face and clenches a radio in her hand.  
"Hey," I frown and drop my hand, "What's up with you?"  
"Nothin," she mumbles and pushes past me.  
I stumble back from the force and walk up to her, "Hey! What was that for?"  
"Get away from me, Daniels," she says quietly, "I'm just tired. Go call your family, tell them you're safe."  
I watch her leave, clutching my own radio, but I do not call Amata. Instead, I turn around and look at Lyons.  
"We're all tired. I punched Kodiak in the face a few years ago when he touched my food after a four day stake out eating nothin' but stale bread and milk," Lyons chuckles and stands up, "I've gotta go and sort out patrols."  
"Yeah…" I trail off and see Dusk sitting against the wall with her face in her hands.


	20. Chapter 20

Hey guys. Just reminding you to go to my profile page and go to the map link for this chapter if you like to be visually informed. Alright, have a good one J

December 24th

"Day two on the campaign on the Western Front is underway, it's Christmas Eve, folks! I wish you all a Merry Christmas! Especially those serving in our Brotherhood of Steel. After the official statement from BoS officials, there will be no cease fire during Christmas Eve through December 27th. Citizens are advised Remember, it ain't too late to send them a care package as they battle against the Enclave. Anything, a spare tin of food, some socks, you know what I mean, children. They need your help more than ever, children. Give our boys and girls on the front a little present, straight from our hearts."  
I sigh irritably and turn off my radio. I'm sick of Three Dog doing this, it makes things so much worse for me when they talk about the "front", for lack of better word, and how dire it is there. I shiver and look at the radio resting on the counter. I'm tempted to call her, but I know she said not to because she would most likely be busy.  
"Momma!" Aiden runs upstairs and into my room, "Momma somebody's at the door."  
"Did you answer it?"  
"No."  
"Good man," I smile at him before I walk down the stairs. I walk to the door and keep one hand on the shotgun I keep on a shelf by the door. Since Winter and I's… "accident", I thought up a different alternative to defending the house.  
"Who is it?" I say.  
"Ali," is the instant reply.  
I open the door and frown in surprise, "Alice?"  
Alice smiles warily at me, "Hey, Mrs Daniels."  
"Um… hi," I stumble, "What… what are you doing here?"  
She sighs, "I know, this is inappropriate, I just have to-"  
"No, no it isn't," I say instantly and wave my hand in dismissiveness, "Come in, Alice."  
"Thank you, please, just call me Ali. It's what Daniels calls me."  
"Of course," I nod as she walks in.  
"I shouldn't stay long, I know you're getting ready for Christmas with the kids and everything," she takes off her hat and keeps it close to her chest as she looks around, "This is a nice place."  
"Thank you," I run a hand through my hair anxiously. I like Ali, and I know she trusts Winter and Winter trusts her, but the fact that a BoS soldier is in my living room makes me a tad uneasy because of what it could mean.  
"I was just calling in because I just flew in from the Citadel," she says and looks over at Aiden, who's hiding underneath a blanket, "Hey kiddo, remember me?"  
Aiden pokes his head out and doesn't say anything.  
"I was wondering if Dusk was coming off the front for the holidays?" she exhales as she turns to me.  
"Dusk?... Um… no actually… how would I know?" I frown as I offer her a seat at the table.  
"Well I figured because Daniels is in direct communication with you and she's partnered with Dusk."  
"Uh huh," I nod and sip at my water in thought, "Why Dusk?"  
"Because she said she'd be here and we were going to hang out and stuff."  
I watch her for a few seconds, looking into her sparkling eyes, burning cheeks and ears and her pursed lips, before I startbursting out laughing, "Oh that's fucking adorable."  
"What?" she frowns as her face turns cherry red.  
I smile and shake my head, "Ali. How old are you?"  
"27."  
"At 27 you're acting like a crush crazy teenager."  
"No I'm not!"  
I burst out laughing again and have to bite my lip to calm myself down, "I've been crazy about Winter since I was 16. I wanted to 'hang out' with her all the time."  
Ali scowls and looks at me, "So?"  
"I'm not having ago, and I'm sure Winter and Dusk are clueless about it so I won't say anything to them."  
"Daniels is, I think, but Dusk… isn't."  
"Isn't?"  
"Yeah. We've been dating for a while… Dusk refused to let me come with her for the campaign, but… I just needed to leave the Citadel for a while."  
"So Winter doesn't know?"  
"No."  
I smile, "Winter can be an ass about these sorts of things. I won't say anything, I promise."  
She nods and stands up, "Well… I won't keep you."  
I shake my head and smile, "Ali… you can stay here if you want."  
"Ah I can't do that," she shakes her head and grins at Charlie, sitting in his high chair at the kitchen, "This is your first Christmas, isn't it buddy?"  
Charlie grins at Ali and she puts her hat back on, "I know you're busy."  
I've lived Ali's life for a while now. I have someone I love in the battlefield. I felt at ease when I was with her out in that Wasteland, I knew she was safe and we could help each other if something screwed up. Now, now I stress. The only thing I have is a radio that I watch most of the day, and another radio with an annoying voice spewing out BoS propaganda, with the occasional battle update. Anything to take her mind off her baby would be amazing.  
"Ali, you'd help me out if you could help me with helping me with breakfast?" I offer. Ali turns and looks at me, before noddingand smiling.

…

"Don't you fucking move!" I shout, jumping down a small ridge at a group of Enclave soldiers. The second my boots hit the ground Dusk is positioned behind me, carrying a plasma rifle, "Hands in the air!"  
The soldiers stop dead in their tracks and I grab one officer by the scruff of his coat, "On your knees!" I shout, my revolver pressing against his rib cage.  
"You wanna shout louder, Daniels?" Dusk chuckles as she walks up to me. Who follows are 20 BoS soldiers, guns pointed at the group.  
"Merry Christmas, boys," I chuckle and lightly push the officer into the group as they're rounded up, "We'll be serving steak for dinner tonight, it ain't all that bad."  
I back away and chuckle to myself, before walking around and climbing back onto the ridge. The early morning sun isn't as cruel today, I'm only dressed in a shirt and pants, a huge no-no in the middle of a battlefield, but frankly my jacket doesn't do much to stop it.

"Daniels!" Dusk shouts and charges towards me, "Hit the de-"  
I hear a shockwave boom and the force of it sends me off my feet and lying on my back in the dirt. My ears start ringing and I stumble up to my feet. Dusk grabs me by my shoulder and shoves me back down and holds me there with her arm as she lies down beside me. For combat purposes, my beanie has been replaced by a combat helmet, and I hear a chorus of little pings and twangs as a rainfall of debris falls onto my head. I look up and see the Enclave beginning to approach around a mile from us, with Vertibirds and missile launchers intending to pound us before we get there. I'm five miles deep outside our first objective.

Our small company of only around 20 people were here to simply advance through the area as far as we could for the day, and to survey the area for patrols. instantly hit the deck and I crawl up to a ridge. I'm positioned awkwardly, with my rifle resting along a rounded surface and me having to prop myself up by my elbow to hold my gun properly. I'm perched on my side, my left hip resting against the ground as I look through the scope at the incoming attacking force.  
I fire a few shots, mostly hitting their chest or head marks, but I soon come under heavy fire I duck down out of the line of fire. I use the time to reload my almost empty clip and I look over at Dusk, with her shouting into a radio for support.  
"Goddamit!" I shout as a green glob whizzes over the top of my head.  
"Reinforcements are 15 minutes away," Dusk shouts over the noise, "We've gotta hold out till then."  
I look down over the ridge and see the Enclave chewing up our comrades, many already lying dead. A hollow feeling of fear sits in my stomach and I move to fire, but Dusk grabs me by my shoulder and shoves me back out of their sight.  
"Let me-" I begin to protest, but I see the look in Dusk's eyes and she shakes her head.  
"We've gotta go, Daniels. We can't do anything."  
I glare at her, "No! I-"  
"Don't let your goddamn pride control you," she shouts at me, "They are going to- Daniels!"

I yell out in pain as a bullet rips into my left tricep. I collapse onto the ground and hold back another yell as I lie on the ground. I'm lying on my back as bullets kick into the slope barely a foot from my head. If I move, I know my head will come into the line of fire and I'll be dead before I can do anything about it. Dusk can't drag me away because she'll be put into the firing line too.  
I gaze up at the hot early morning sky as I wait it out, my left arm searing in pain. My heart pounds against my chest as my eyes water from the sun's glare. I hear the gunfire going silent and someone calls, "Flank them, finish them off and we can get on with the day."  
A ball of panic hits me and I look down at Dusk, feeling her reaching over and kicking for the bag with a few handguns inside. She kicks at it and tries to loop it around her boot. She pulls it close to her and brings out a handgun, sliding one over to me. I take it onto my right hand and load it. My left hand is resting against the dirt, and Dusk moves her hand down to hold mine. I look down at her and nod. Her hand moves from mine, and sheturns onto her side, then we hear the faint humming. I look over and see Vertibirds rapidly approaching.  
"Winter…?" Dusk whispers, referring to me by my first name since I can't remember as the Enclave engages the BoS vertibirds.  
"Yeah?"  
"Fucking run."  
Within a second I spring up onto my feet and chase after Dusk as we sprint toward the main base we took earlier. My feet dig hard into the dirt and I hear destruction occurring behind me.  
"Fuck fuck fuck fuck," I swear as I collapse onto the ground. Dusk turns around and frantically helps me up, "Come on, Daniels."  
I grunt in pain as I run, one hand clutching my injured tricep as blood starts to trickle down my arm.

My face is pale when we reach an infirmary. I'm patched up and am nursing my sore arm when Lyons walks in with a smile on her face, "Want a lollipop, sweetie pie?"  
"Don't do that," I sigh and rub my face tiredly.  
"Merry Christmas," she smiles and flicks a small box at me. I catch it in one hand and frown, "What's this?"  
I flick it open and raise an eyebrow, "What's this? A key...?"  
"To what?"  
"To my heart."  
I cringe and shudder, making her laugh, "No. It's a key to a house we'll be building in a complex when this war is over. It'll be a nice two story place for you to raise the kiddies in."  
"Why do I have a key if the house isn't built yet?" I frown as I add it to my key ring.  
"Because it's marked with your name. You and Amata's names are registered in the roster for it, the key's serves as a morale boost."  
I nod and look up at her, "Thanks, Lyons."  
"No problem, have a good day off."  
"Day off?"  
"We'll give you the night off."  
"…No you're not," I frown.  
"Oh, of course. Here's your 15 pound gun that I'll get you to hold and use properly with a gunshot wound in your arm. Go home, Winter. Spend Christmas with your wife and kids. We don't need you here. We'll survive."  
I grin and stand up, surprised as Lyons pulls me into a hug. I hug her back and smile, "Have a good night, Lyons. Radio me if I'm needed."

…

"Amata?" Ali smiles and looks at me, "You need a hand with dinner?"  
Under pity I let Ali stay for the day. I can't think of a more stressful afternoon than sitting around trying to find out what happened to my significant other. I'm cooking dinner for the kids, not bothering for a large "feast" for dinner. I let Ali help, it'll help to take her mind off things.  
I hear someone knock on the door and I look over my shoulder. Ali instinctively puts a hand on her gun she kept at the top shelf. I hear the door to the lock click open and Ali grabs the gun and points it at the door.  
"I never thought I would have to worry about having a gun pulled on me in my own house so many times," Winter laughs as she walks in.  
I dart out of the kitchen and freeze right in my tracks. Aiden runs up and hugs Winter, but all I see is the bandage around her arm that's half drenched in red that pokes out of the sleeve in her shirt. Tears sting my eyes and I wipe them away as Winter looks at me. The smile fades from her face and she walks up to me and hugs me tightly, "Hey... I'm alright."  
I hide my eyes into her shoulder and I feel her kissing my cheek comfortingly. I look over Winter's shoulder and see Dusk and Ali embracing each other silently, Dusk clearly understanding the weight of the situation more than Winter does or is willing to acknowledge. She eventually breaks away from me with an assuring smile on her face, "Where's the little man?"  
"He's upstairs," I sigh and point directly upward, "He's been a pain all day, please don't wake him up."  
Winter shifts slightly on her feet and gives an uneasy smile, "I won't. Hey um… Dusk is off duty tonight and…"  
"They can stay," I flick my wrist at them, my voice quiet and catching, "The more the merrier, hey?"  
"Amata I-" Winter reaches out with her good arm to grasp mine, but I pull away. I really don't want to cause a scene in front of Aiden, Dusk and Ali, so I move into the kitchen and work on dinner, but Winter follows me.  
"I'm alright, Amata," she says gently, resting her palm against the counter as we talk, "Barely a scratch."  
"Do you think I'm an idiot?" I hiss irritably, "No. I'm not having this conversation again with you. It always ends with me crying and this isn't the time for it."  
"Honey…"  
"Stop," I say firmly, sharply pointing at her like I'm scolding one of the kids, "Not another word."  
She opens her mouth to speak again, but I raise my knife and violently bring it down on a carrot, which manages to silence her.  
She puts a hand on my shoulder and kisses the top of my head, lingering there for a few seconds and murmuring, "I'm sorry."  
The act of affection numbs me a little, but Winter leaves before I can say anything.

I put on an act during dinner, laughing and joking around with Dusk and Ali as we eat. Winter spends most of the meal looking after Aiden, teaching him how to eat properly with a fork and knife, even though she doesn't really mind. Winter, when questioned, explains her dead mood because of her hurt arm. Dusk and Ali take Aiden's room for the night, Aiden going to sleep in our room. Winter puts Aiden to bed at around 7 and walks downstairs, sitting down on the couch silently. I sit down beside her with a bandage and slowly peel the dressing off herarm.  
"I-"  
"Don't talk," I say quietly as I put the bloody bandages in a small bag. I clean the wound and frown, "No exit wound?"  
Winter shakes her head, "Yes, a doctor had to take out the bullet."  
I wrap the bandage firmly around her arm and yank her shirt sleeve down to halfway cover it.  
"Thanks," she smiles.  
"I don't want blood on me or the bed sheets tonight," I sigh and stand up, "I'm going to go to bed, are you OK to put down the presents for the kids tomorrow?"  
"Uh… yeah…" she says awkwardly and runs a hand through her hair.  
I nod and grasp her hand, "Night."  
"Goodnight," she sighs.

I walk upstairs and go into my bedroom. Aiden's curled up in a ball around the blankets "hiding". My mood goes darker and I gently put a hand on Aiden's shoulder, "Aiden…?"  
Aiden winces and doesn't respond right away, so I sit down beside him.  
"Monsters," he whispers.  
"What's wrong, baby boy?" I frown.  
"Monsters are outside."  
I smile and poke my head underneath the blankets, "Monsters?"  
"Yes," he nods.  
"Can you hear them now?"  
"Yeah…"  
I frown, there isn't any noise at all. I strain my ears.

December 25th

Winter pretends to be asleep until around 7 in the morning when I pretend to wake her up. She seems genuinely happy to watch Aiden attack at his presents, and helps Charlie open his own, but she moves slower, the both of us do. Galaxy News is on the radio on a low volume, but Dusk firmly shuts it off when Three Dog talks about the war. Winter sits down beside me on the couch, Charlie in her lap as he chews on a new toy. I feel bad knowing Dogmeat's in the Citadel, but I'm sure that Washington would give him something.  
"Here," she smiles and digs into her bag, "I had Kodiak go to Rivet City with a few caps."  
She hands me a small pouch and I open it. I frown and hold up a small chip, "I don't get it."  
Winter chuckles and gently grasps my left hand and opens up the chip tray in my Pip-Boy, "All in good time…"  
She fiddles around with my wrist and slips the chip inside. She goes into the radio signals and turns on the Vault 101 PA system. Old songs that Winter and I listened to throughout our childhoods slowly seep through the speakers in my Pip-Boy. Hours and hours of studying with Winter as a child come flooding back. I smile and my eyes start watering. I kiss Winter appreciatively on the lips and smile, "Thank you."

"I'm probably going to get yelled at by Lyons if I don't get back soon," she grunts and puts Charlie down after kissing the top of his head.  
I nod and wrap my arms around her back and hearing her say, "Bye."  
"Bye," I sigh and nuzzle into her shoulder, "Be safe, for the love of god," I sigh and hand her her cleaned revolver. She nods in appreciation and slips it into her holster and gives me a quick kiss goodbye, "You too. I love you."  
"I love you too," I smile and watch her leave with Dusk, who embraces Ali without saying anything.

…

I sigh and close the door behind me, "Jesus."  
"You doing alright, Daniels?" Dusk frowns as I run a hand through my hair.  
"Yeah, I'm fine," I sigh, "It was just… just a type of Christmas I'm not used to."  
"Ah, it's fine," she smiles, "She liked your present, at least."

We walk toward Springvale together. The place is, of course, organized yet chaotic. I walk along the middle of the main road and a man jogs past me. He pushes past me and I bump into Dusk.  
"Hey! What the hell!" I shout after him. I feel Dusk grabbing me by my good arm and dragging me off the main road.  
Around a dozen soldiers come jogging past, carrying boxes filled with explosives into Springvale's main building.  
"Hey," Dusk grabs one passing soldier gently by the shoulder, "What's going on?"  
I don't hear what he says in reply, because I hear faint boom and a rumble against my shoes. Dusk seems to hear, because she looks at me with complete manic in her eyes.  
"What?" I frown when I hear another rumble.  
Dusk grabs me by my arm and yanks me into Springvale, "They've been mining to get to the Vault."

Within two minutes, I've made my way down to the lower levels of Springvale. Tiled floors and painted rooms are replaced by dimly lit tunnels carved from the rock into the dirt. I begin to trace my steps, praying that they've somehow tunnelled in the wrong direction. But no, I imagine myself moving underground, making my way over to the Vault. I stop completely dead, Dusk bumping into me.  
"Daniels… maybe you should let me handle this," Dusk trails off and puts a hand on my shoulder.  
I swallow and shake my head rapidly, "No. I need to know what's happening."  
My hearth thuds as I start running, hearing another explosion as they carve their way further and further to the Vault. I hear Dusk calling for and running after me, but I ignore her. I run at least a quarter of a mile, before I look down. Around 20 soldiers have already outran me, and are loading explosives into a pile.  
I see Lyons overseeing them, and I run up to her.

"What the fuck are you doing?" I shout and rip Lyons away from the group. She turns to me with an exasperated look on her face, "Winter… I…"  
"Find something else. Use Vault 108, it's intact."  
"Enclave already are moving their citizens inside. Megaton's already filled with officer and Paladin families. We need this, Winter."  
I bounce on the balls of my feet and put my hands behind my head, "Not this."  
"What other alternative is there?" she snaps, "This thing will only get worse, we'll be streaming in steady amounts of supplies, we'll be fine."  
"You don't understand! They're going to fight for this place!We've been raised to believe that this is the safest place in the world! They're emotionally sensitive to what's happening out here! The security force have guns, they'll fight you for the Vault."  
"Our Power Armour will block 10mm bullets just fine," she assures.  
"I don't give a shit about what happens to us! I'm concerned about the people I grew up with!"  
"We won't hurt anybody if we can help it."  
I step back and rub my eyes in frustration, "I… I… We need to send in a negotiator or something."  
"Yeah…" Lyons scratches the back of her head, "Now that you've said that, I need to pitch an idea to you."  
I stare at her for a few seconds looking at her anxious expression, before shake my head rapidly, "No, not Amata."  
"I doubt your father is going to murder his only child," she sighs, "Look if anyone can get this thing to turn sweet, it's her. And you know that."  
I put my hands behind my head and shake it, "You know what you're asking me to ask her?"  
"I know, Daniels, but this is a proper solution."  
"You aren't sending my wife into there!" I shout and jab a finger at her, "I'm not letting her be thrown into."  
"But it's better than finding out her father's dead when she could have done something about it."  
I'm still for a few seconds, running the thoughts through my head and going through many ideas. Eventually, I suck the air between my teeth and I wince, "Goddamit…"  
"I'll give you half an hour to convince her."  
"She goes on one condition," I say firmly.  
"It isn't up to you, but OK."  
"I'm allowed to go in with her."  
Lyons nods, "Of course. Go, we don't have all day here."  
Dusk nods, "I'll watch the kids with Ali."

The walk back to Megaton is slow. I open the gate and limp backto my house. I open the door and Amata walks downstairs. She has her Christmas present playing and she seems happy to see me,"Hey," she frowns when she sees my troubled face, "What's wrong? Did you forget something?"  
I look up at Amata and shake my head. She walks up to me to hug me, and I brush past her and walk upstairs. Aiden's out showing Maggie his presents, Charlie's asleep. I rip off my belt and holsterand collapse face first onto the bed. I look over and see Amata leaning against the doorframe, her arms crossed and a concerned look on her face.  
"Are you in trouble?"  
"No…" I groan into the blanket.  
"Then what's wrong?"  
"Um…" I roll onto my back, almost pondering for a few seconds. What do I tell her…?  
I sit upright and bury my face in my hands, "Oh man…"  
I take my hat off and run a hand through the side of my head that has hair as Amata sits down beside me.  
"Um…" I look at her and sigh in frustration. I don't feel sorry for Alphonse about what's about to happen to him, not one bit, but it's a hard thing to talk to your wife about. So I blurt out everything, right up to the part about Lyons' proposal. Amata seems to figure it out for herself, because she stands up and picks up a sleeping Charlie and holds him close to her.  
"I'll be with you every step of the way," I say as I stand up.  
Amata rocks Charlie a bit as she thinks, "I don't know, Winter…"  
"I'm not forcing you to," I say firmly, "If you don't want to, it's fine."  
Amata looks warily at me and kisses the top of Charlie's head, "No… No. I owe enough to the people we grew up with to ignore them for the sake of my safety."  
I nod slowly and hesitate, before opening the small footlocker at my bed, always locked in case of prying little fingers. I unlock it and bring out a 9mm pistol and Amata's old holster, "You won't need it, but… y'know… you'll put me at ease."  
Amata nods and she puts on the holster, "Oh god…"  
I smile assuringly at her, "Hey, if all else fails, use me as a human shield."  
"I'll throw you in the way of the bullets," she smiles and looks down at Charlie's open eyes, "Bye baby boy."

Amata and I walk together down into the depths of Springvale, having Dusk and Ali stay at home for an extra few hours to watch Charlie.  
"Ah good," Lyons smiles, "So, are you two ready?"  
I look over my shoulder at Amata, "Are you sure about this?"  
"Let's go before I change my mind," she sighs and rubs her forehead.  
"I'll go first," I nod as they prime the explosives, "God how many times do we have to break into this thing?"  
"One more apparently," she says bitterly as I cover my eyes with my hat. The explosion is small and manageable, with a small hole around a meter wide poking into the Vault. I instantly walk up and climb inside the Vault.  
"First sign of any trouble we'll be right there, alright?" Lyons says firmly as I help Amata up.  
"Yeah," I sigh and stand up, "Alright…"

I look up and unholster my gun, "Alright, stay close, alright?"  
"Yep," Amata sighs and follows me as I jog down the halls. My memory of the place is surprisingly hazy, considering I've been here this year. The upper part of the Vault is a labyrinth of corridors and shit like that I didn't bother to go around much when I was little. Amata knows the way to her Dad's office, and she pulls me in the right direction when I get lost. Guards patrols are thin, like they always have been. Two are roaming the halls half-heartedly, though I can't see who they are. I can see the door to the Overseer's office, around 20 metres from us.  
"Look, we're going to have to run if we don't want to get caught, alright?" I whisper to Amata.  
She nods and I check to see where both guards are, then I jog on crouched legs to the office. Amata smacks onto the buttons and we both slip inside.

"Oh great," Amata sighs at the empty office, "That makes the negotiation easier."  
I frown at her, "You're still mad?"  
"Not the time or place, Winter," she sighs and sits down at his chair.  
"S'pose so," I smirk and lean against the wall with my arms crossed, "Should I be hiding or something? I figure he won't be so pissed if it's you."  
Amata opens some drawers and rummages through them, "You know… he doesn't have a picture of my mother."  
"Your mother?"  
"Yeah, not one," Amata looks up at me, "Do you have one of your mom or Matthew?"  
"I've seen pictures, though I don't have any in the house or in my bag," I shrug.  
"You should, it's important to keep us close."  
I tap my wedding ring on my finger, "This does me just fine. I don't want pictures to get ruined."  
Amata runs a hand through her hair and shakes her head, "Winter?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Where will you go after this Vault thing is sorted?"  
"Front lines probably, Lyons hasn't given me orders yet outside of this… thing."  
"And after that?"  
"Rinse and repeat until the war's over," I smile at her, "Civvie life after that."  
She sighs, "I have plans for us."  
"Really?" I grin, "Like what?"  
Amata shrugs her shoulders almost shyly, "You know, stupid stuff."  
I chuckle and shake my head slowly, "You have it written down, don't you?"  
Her brown eyes glint and she shakes her head with a smile on herface.  
"I'm scouring our house when I get home," I tease.  
"Don't-" she scolds.  
"It'll make for some good night-time reading."  
"Like you read books," she sneers, "You're out before your head hits the pillow."  
I poke my tongue out at her, "I'll read one a month, alright?"  
"Remember when they said this war would be over before Christmas?"  
I shrug and look out the tinted window, "They've always said that, 'Fight hard and we'll have you home by Christmas!', they use it to boost morale and hope."  
"How long do you think it'll last?"  
I lean my shoulder against the wall and sigh, "Um… another… I don't know… 16 months? Depends on how much of a fight we get from the northern bases and settlements and if we get other BoS territories into the fray. I'm not the strategic analyst, 'Mata, I really don't know. Could be 16 months, could be six, but it sure as hell ain't gonna be over before New Years."  
Amata shakes her head and opens her mouth to say something, before I see a dark shadow approaching the office.

"Amata?" Alphonse gasps.  
"Daddy," she gasps and rushes toward him. Alphonse hugs his daughter tightly and I back against the wall.  
"How's Charlie?" he asks urgently, "Has something happened? Why isn't he here with you?"  
"Charlie's safe, Dad," she assures him, "He's back home."  
"With Winter?"  
"…No…"  
She looks in my direction and Alphonse turns his head. His look of joy on his face is wiped when he sees me, amazingly turning his face into one like as if I had just insulted him. I keep my face blank however, I stand simply in the corner and don't test him.  
"You know why she has to be here, Dad," Amata sighs, "It'd be wrong if she wasn't."  
Actually I was the one who talked to her about coming down her, it wasn't like she barged in and I had to follow as according to the marital duty, but I appreciate the fact that she isn't throwing me to the dogs… just yet anyway.  
Alphonse looks me up and down, knowing I could be more presentable, "What's your agenda, Daniels?"  
I shake my head, "I'm not gonna say anything unless I'm needed."  
"Eh? That's a first. That's a good pet."  
I keep my expression emotionless and Amata sighs, "Back off, Dad, Winter's not going to bite."  
"Ah," he nods and does something that I despise. He rests his foot against what he thinks is my fake, plastic right leg, and pushes it as a means to try and move me off balance while Amata cannot see. I jerk my foot away as he digs the heel of his boot against it, and ignore the look of shock on his face. He looks down at it and I can't help but to giggle a little like a girl who just pulled off a magic trick to her oblivious friends.  
"Daddy, we really need to talk about something," Amata sighs.  
Alphonse frowns and looks at Amata, "About what?"  
Amata starts to explain everything, briefly going over my leg, and making me laugh at his bewildered expression as he looks at my new ankle when I lift up on my pant leg. However, once we explain why we're here, his bewildered expression turns into one of anger.  
"Daddy, I am so sorry… but we can't stop it."  
Alphonse turns and looks fiercely at me, "Was this your idea?"  
I'm leaning against the wall with my arms crossed, and I shake my head, "I tried to stop it, I'm not in the business of having the people I grew up with sharing a living space with strangers. Believe me, this won't be as bad as you think. You'll still be Overseer, of course, you'll be able to reprimand people for their actions." This was not what Lyons said was on the table, but it isn't called negotiating for nothing.  
"Oh?" he tilts his head, "Well isn't that nice? People can barge into my home, but at least I have a say."  
I give a desperate look to Amata, who sighs, "Dad, this wasn't our idea."  
"I don't blame you, Amata," he growls as he comes literally nose to nose with me, "You had better do something to make this easy for me, Daniels."  
"I'm doing all I can," I say simply, "I'm not your enemy here."  
"I'll believe it when I goddamn see it," he grumbles and looks at Amata, "So, what? You're a representative?"  
"Technically Winter is, but we both agreed it would be easier if I just took over, Winter's just here so it looks like she's doing something."  
"Uh huh…" I say slowly.  
"Well I'd really rather prefer that Amata and I talk by ourselves," he says bitterly.  
"Oh, I'm not leaving Amata alone," I say simply.  
"I'm not going to harm her, Winter. Frankly I don't trust you with raising Charlie by yourself."  
I give him a filthy look and Amata tells me to stop, before agreeing to it. I walk out of the office, and it's shut and effectively locked behind me. I lean against the other wall and mutter a string of curses at the wall.

"How'd it go?" I ask urgently when she eventually walks out. Amata looks mentally drained and walks straight into me andleans herself against me. I hug her and kiss her cheek, "It went that well?"  
"It's done," she sighs and looks up at me and pecks my lips apologetically, "I'm sorry I had to kick you out like that."  
I shrug, "I'll recover. You wanna go home?"  
She nods, "I don't want to see this."  
"Alright, let's go."

We walk home and Amata excuses herself to go upstairs, looking a little lost as she does so. Ali goes back to Springvale and I sit onthe couch playing with the kids. I carry Charlie up and knock on the door, "Baby?"  
I open the door and find Amata curled up in bed. She's been crying, her brown eyes rimmed red.  
"Hey," I frown, "You alright?"  
"You know how good Dad is with conversations," she sighs.  
I smile and put Charlie down beside her, "I have a vague idea."  
She looks up at me as I sit down beside her on the bed. She lies on her back and puts Charlie on her stomach, a small smile on her face.  
"You're going to work?" she asks as she strokes Charlie's head.  
I chuckle and shrug my shoulders, "If you want to call it that."  
"When will you be back?"  
I sigh and run a hand through my hair, "Um… Two weeks, maybe? Depends on how this thing goes. Once we seal the gap on the west I'll probably get put on leave for a few weeks."  
Amata nods and gives Charlie a weak smile when he smiles up at her.  
I stand up and kiss her cheek, "You radio me if something goes wrong here, alright?"  
"Yeah, yeah I will," she nods and cuddles Charlie close to her, "Bye. I love you."  
"Love you too, beautiful," I grin and look down at Charlie, "Hey."  
He smiles up at me and I kiss his cheek, "Bye! Bye-bye!"  
Amata picks up his hand and waves at me, "Say bye to Daddy."  
"What the hell are you doing calling me that!" I laugh.  
She suddenly grins, her mood completely changing, "I'm joking!"  
"You've been saying that for ages, haven't you?"  
"Oh yeah, I point to photos of you with Charlie in my lap and repeatedly call you Dad," she teases. I kiss her a final time and smile at her genuinely good mood, before grabbing my stuff and walking downstairs.  
"Aiden!" I grin when I see him playing with his Nuka Cola truck, "I'm gonna take off, alright buddy?"  
Aiden pulls a face, his bright blue eyes swimming in tears.  
"Ah don't cry," I smile and scoop him up, "You're gonna be good to your Mum?"  
He nods slowly and wraps his arms around me, before I kiss his cheek, "Come on, dude. I'll be back before you know it."  
He nods again before I put him down, "Be good."


	21. Chapter 21

December 31st

"Winter," Dusk smiles, walking up to me carrying our dinner, "You doing OK?"  
I look up from resting my head numbly against the ground and shrug, "Yeah. I'll be fine."  
She sits down beside me and hands me a can of heated soup.  
We'd chipped away at our second objective over a number of days, the battle lasting from December 26th to December 30th. My shoulder is killing me from the constant kick of my rifle, and I haven't slept in at least 36 hours, haven't eaten in at least 13. I nurse the cup of soup in my hands before I start eating. I have some night-vision binoculars, which makes my already fatigued eyes ache as I survey the area. I rub my eyes and toss my empty cup at Dusk, "Thanks Dusky."  
She laughs and washes the cup with a canteen, "I didn't realise I was the maid."  
I tuck myself into my sleeping bag, lying on my stomach with my rifle directly in front of me.  
"You're going to fall asleep," Dusk smirks.  
"Ah well, then you'll pick up after my slack," I smirk and look down my scope. At our backs, 3 miles away, is a captured Enclave compound. Dusk and I, along with four other sniper divisions, are spending the night overseeing the west, for a surprise counter attack. I'm worn down, and I said to Lyons that I won't be as sharp, but we're running thin. We don't want to leave our other territories too exposed, and we have around 4000 troops still in training. Dog squads are on patrols around the area, so we should at least have a warning. Dusk and I are the first line of defence, the furthest away from our newly conquered base. Dusk lies down beside me, having stolen a three hour nap during the afternoon, and looks through the binoculars.  
"Hello…" she frowns, "We've got an officer inbound. One o'clock." I nudge my rifle to the right and frown at him, "What the hell are you up to, little man?"  
I peer down my scope and survey the area, squinting as Dusk radios in the sighting to base and the other divisions. I hear a shot fired and within a second Dusk yanks the sleeping bag off me to give me more room.  
"Shit!" I hiss as my shoulder clicks. I load a clip and Dusk puts out our camp fire. The Enclave are easy to spot in the dark, their helmets radiate a faint yellow reading in their eye holes, they're easy to spot if you know where to look, and the horizon is filled with a faint, yellow hue.  
"Oh for fuck's sake!" I gasp and turn my head to Dusk, "Shout for reinforcements!"  
Our sniper divisions open fire, and I hear the dog squads barking and running back to alert their masters.  
Dusk rests her left hand against my right shoulder to steady herself as she feeds me ammo. 5 snipers do almost nothing against the attack, which seems to be moving at an incredible pace. I open fire with my rifle, guaranteeing a headshot so long as I hit the yellow targets painted for me, but there's too many. I don't risk it, and I already feel Dusk tugging at my shoulder. Within 30 seconds, all our ammo and weapons are packed and we're falling back. I don't want to get shot again, and Dusk doesn't want to drag my ass back to base. As we run, I keep looking over my shoulder, spotting the sniper divisions running after us.  
"Friendlies coming in!" Dusk shouts into her radio as we start to approach home base, "Friendlies are coming in!"  
I feel a powerful searchlight hit my face and I stand completely still, Dusk doing the same. 500 metres from the base and we raise our hands firmly into the air. It moves away from us and we keep running as fast as we can into the base. We run up the stairs and burst onto the roof. I set up my rifle and Dusk sets up her own, not bothering to feed me ammo this time, there's too many targets for only half of the snipers to be firing. Below us, our miniguns set themselves up.

Within 2 minutes we're being attacked by a swarm of Enclave, and I can't do anything with a rifle. There has to be at least 250 of them, against roughly 100 of us. I run downstairs and grab a semi-auto rifle and run back upstairs to the roof. People seem to be getting the same idea and I start shooting down below. I'm not used to firing a semi-auto, but I still keep descent accuracy while Dusk hurls grenades at them.  
"Daniels!" I hear Dusk scream. She throws me to the ground beside her, just as a barrage of rockets pounds the rooftop from Enclave rocket launchers. Fragments of bricks and cement rain down on us and I cover my head with my arms. I look up and see Dusk doing the same, except curled into a ball. At my right I see a kid, only 19, picking up his semi-auto while the rocket team is reloading. Dusk screams at him to stop as he fires, even getting up to stop him… but we all know what's about to come next. I grab Dusk by her waist and shove her down just as a barrage hits us.

I go flying and crash down hard, at least 15 feet, onto the soft, loosened dirt below. The second I hit the ground, everything goes black.

I feel like my body goes through a hard restart, because it feels like I've only been out for a few seconds. The rooftop is flaming above me, with little bits of debris still crumbling downward. I have to lie there for a few minutes, waiting for everything to stop hurting. In those few minutes, I couldn't move my legs. I slapped at them with my hands until I got feeling back into them and I could move my feet on their own.

"Dusk?" I grunt and roll onto my stomach, hearing my back crack and twinge. I stumble onto my feet and look down. I've got all of my limbs in descent condition, but I'm bleeding down my side. I look around and find Dusk, lying on the ground and not moving.  
"Shit! Dusk!" I gasp and drop to my feet beside her. I grab her wrist and check for a pulse. She has a faint beat, just barely.  
I look around at the BoS soldiers running past me in retreat and shout for help. They take one look at Dusk, bloody and severely injured, and turn and run.  
"Shit…" I grunt and sling a medic bag over my shoulder, "Alright…"  
I rip open her shirt and see a pretty bad wound on her stomach, which is trickling out thick, dark red blood.  
I hear Dusk let out a strangled cry and grip my arm, thinking I'm an enemy soldier as I touch her stomach a few inches from her wound.  
"Stop!" I gasp when she reaches for her knife, I pin her wrist to the ground and we make eye contact. She nods at me, and I grab her hand to help her up. She grunts in pain and screams when she stands up, instantly collapsing in a heap.  
"Shut up, they'll hear us." I grunt as I position her so I'm carrying her in my arms. It's a struggle, my arms trembling from an already aching shoulder, injured back and a beaten side, don't compete well with Dusk, who weighs slightly more than me as well as wearing heavy protective clothing. I keep running, but I know I can't make it back to secure territory and a medic like this. I turn my head and nod at the main road around a mile away.

By the time we get there, Dusk is taking in shallow breaths. I find a mobile home and kick open the door. It's empty, only with a filthy mattress and some empty bottles of Nuka Cola are on the floor. I ease her down onto it and shut the door behind me, locking it. I look out the window and see nobody following us.  
"Alright," I whisper and crouch down beside her, "Alright…"  
I rip open my bag and rummage through it. I sigh in relief when I find a mostly full bottle of disinfectant. I grab a few rags and get to work cleaning and disinfecting her wounds, with Dusk doing her best to not scream, even though she's fading fast.  
"It's OK," I whisper when I wrap a bandage around her stomach. I grab my radio and radio in for help, but radio chatter is far too busy for us to get picked up. I turn my attention to Dusk, who is pale and shaking.  
"Alright…" I sigh as I try to think. Her bandages are already bleeding, so I dig into my bag and grab some morphine.  
"Don't-" she grunts, "Gotta stay awake."  
"Nope," I say as I plunge the needle in. She grunts and her entire body relaxes.  
"OK…" I sigh as she starts to drift off. My radio won't shut up, people screaming at each other for support while I hide out with Dusk in the dark, danky motor home. All of the spare, relatively clean clothes I found in the bag are used to give her a blanket, and I sit against the wall beside her with my revolver pointed at the door. I smile when I look outside and see a heavy wind starting to set in. The bloody and loose dirt will be turned up, hopefully covering our tracks. I look down at Dusk, blood still spilling out of her wounds. I don't know how to stitch up a wound, and when I inspect her wounds properly I realise she's losing a war with her own blood supply. I get on my radio and request medical help, but someone responds saying all medics are busy, that we should stay steady.  
"Shit…" I sigh as I pick up my other radio I thankfully kept in my pocket and didn't break, "Amata?"  
No response, at 11PM I doubt she's awake. I say her name a few more times, before I close my eyes and turn it off. Dusk will die before morning like this. I can't let it happen.  
"Dusk," I whisper, "I'll be back in a minute, OK?"

I crouch down behind a rock and look around at the Enclave base. It's a flurry of activity. Desperate defences are strung together and I look down at a recruit only wearing light armour. He takes a break and walks around to the back of the wall for a smoke. I take off my BoS jacket, no longer wearing BoS uniform, and adjust my civilian beanie. I rub dirt along my arms and legs, before staggering toward him.  
"Help," I croak.  
"Shit!" he gasps as I collapse against him, "Easy!"  
"Sick…" I cough, my arm wrapping around his neck.  
"Fucking civvies," he grunts and supports me, before I use every ounce of strength I have to shove him onto the ground on top of me. I wrap both arms around his neck and my legs tangling around his. He gargles and his hands bash at my head, but I ignore it. I wait until his body goes limp, before frantically changing into his uniform and helmet. I catch my breath and calm myself down a little.  
I take in a few deep breaths, before jogging out into the base camp. I keep my head low, especially around officers, until I reach the med bay.  
I reach around and grab a free medic, "You've gotta help me!"  
"Hands off me, kid. We'll get to your buddy when we have the time."  
My eyes dart as I think of an excuse to make, "He's an officer."  
"Alright," he sighs, "Show me."  
"You need to bring a doctor's bag. He needs stitches but I don't think he can stand being moved."  
The second we're out of the gates, I pull a revolver on him and aim it in between his eyes, "Don't fucking move."  
I rip the bag from his hands and shove it over my shoulder, "Up the hill. Move now or else I'll kill you."

Dusk is still unconscious as I shove the medic inside the camper van, when I check her pulse it's barely beating."  
"I need light," he says irritably as he gazes around in the dark. I shake my head and turn on my Pip-boy flashlight, "Work from that, we don't need to be spotted with a high powered flashlight."  
He gives me a bitter look, which I give back to him, "She dies, and you die. Understand?"  
He sighs and bends over Dusk. I hold my light over her injuries and he gets to work properly stitching up her wounds.  
"Will she make it?" I say firmly.  
"I don't know if she has any internal bleeding, and she needs blood. I don't know how bad this is."  
"Shit," I hiss and step forward and rip out her dog tag. I walk back and grab my radio and shout, "Amata!"  
Within seconds a drowsy Amata answers, "Winter…?"  
"Amata, what's my blood type?"  
"What? Why?"  
"Dusk is hurt and she needs blood. She's Type A."  
"You're A-. Go for it."  
I look down and rip up the sleeve of my jacket, "Go."

The medic hooks me up to an IV and I keep my gun on him.  
"Trust me," he sighs, "I'm in the Enclave not by patriotic choice."  
I ignore him and keep my eyes darting back and forth between the blood running into Dusk's body and the medic.  
"That should be enough for her to get through at least half a day," he sighs and takes the needle out of my arm.  
"Stay there," I say firmly as I stand up and grab my radio. I switch it to the BoS' frequency and realise chatter's gone quiet. I contact and explain the situation to a very angry and stressed out Lyons.  
"We can't get an evac for you two until tomorrow afternoon. If Dusk can hold, she'll hold. Give me your coordinates and we'll have someone pick her up tomorrow. You wanna head back to base?"  
"I'll see you tomorrow," I sigh and put the radio down.  
"Tomorrow?" the medic frowns.  
I look down at my gun and nod, "Yep… tomorrow."  
The medic looks down and his face pales, "I won't speak a word to them, I swear. I have a wife and a son. I'll run in the opposite direction, you can watch me run, I swear."  
"Outside," I snarl.

_January 1__st_

"Daniels?"  
I turn my head and smile, "Hey. You alright?"  
She grunts and shakes her head, "Mother fucker…"  
"That's good to hear," I smirk and yawn.  
"Damn, how long've you been awake?"  
"Forever," I sigh. I spent the entire night with my back against the wall and my revolver poised to the door, praying that nobody comes across us. Every inch of my body aches and I'm sure I passed out a few times during the night.  
I slowly peel away the Dusk's blanket and swallow. There's a cut on her lower leg that I have overlooked, thankfully the doctor hadn't. While it had been stitched, it has a horrible infection and her veins are bulging.  
"When's evac?" she grunts as I hide her leg from her by pulling the blankets back over her.  
"Soon," I nod, "Probably within the hour."  
"Does… Ali…?"  
I shrug my shoulders, "I don't know if Ali knows. Lyons knows you're hurt, so does Amata."  
She whines and coughs, "Oh god."  
I smile and wriggle some morphine in front of her, "You want it?"  
"Fuck you, Daniels… where are the others…?"  
"Around five miles away."  
I explain to her what happened last night, and her face seems to fall a little when I tell her how exposed we are at the moment.  
"Thank you," Dusk sighs before I inject her with more morphine.  
"No problem, Dusky."  
"Ali…" she sighs.  
"We'll be fine."

At around 11 in the morning, I hear the vertibird coming to pick us up. Dusk is conscious, but in a lot of pain. I pack up our stuff and smile down at her, "You stay here."  
She flips me off and I walk outside. I check to see if it's our bird, before signalling it down. I'm one mile from the Enclave base, and I feel really nervous as it touches down. Two medics come running out, half a mile away, carrying a stretcher. They brush past me and grunt, "Jesus… We need to get her to surgery."  
"Nice bedside manner there, boys," Dusk says bitterly as she's carefully placed onto the stretcher.

"Where're we going?" I frown as the medics carry Dusk onto the Vertibird.  
"Hospital. Does she have any next of kin?"  
"Ali…" she groans.  
"Oh shit, I have no idea where Ali is."  
"Alice Nichols is in the Citadel," a medic says as she straps Dusk onto the floor of the vertibird.

I follow the medics to the infirmary. Because of Dusk's status as a Lyons' Pride member, she's a VIP, and is instantly taken to surgery. I collapse into a chair in the waiting room of the infirmary. I want so badly to sleep, my body is screaming for it. I have injuries that need healing and a mind that needs to unwind for a few hours. My eyes go heavy and I lean back in my chair, the back of my head resting against the wall. I begin to drift off, before I hear someone yelling my name.

Ali runs up to me and hugs me tightly, "How is she?"  
I need to feel sympathy for Ali, because I know Amata has been in Ali's position more than a few times, but I can't handle this right now. I want to help Ali, I want to comfort her, hold my hand, and tell her everything is OK, but I haven't slept in literally more than two days. My body's had a taste for rest in a safe environment, and it's screaming at me for sleep. I murmur an apology, grasping her hand and asking for sleep.  
"Wake me if you need me, Ali," I murmur, lying on the cool tiled floor, "I'm so sorry…"  
Ali chuckles a little and takes off her own jacket for me to use as a pillow.  
"She'll live," I murmur and look up at her, "I promise. She'll live…"

_January 2__nd_

I lift my head up off from the floor. My entire body's stiff, but my mind's at a relative ease. Ali looks up at me and smiles, "Good morning, sleepy head."  
"What time is it?" I grumble.  
"3AM, you were gone for at least 13 hours."  
"I'm still sort of tired," I yawn, before I freeze, "Oh shit. Ali I'm so sorry, I couldn't stay up with you."  
"No offence, Daniels. But you reminded me of a ghoul when you looked at me," she says quietly and wrings her hands together.  
"How is she?" I ask as I hop up and sit on the chair beside her.  
"In recovery," she sighs, "I don't know… she's alive. That's all I know."  
"Well, that's good news, isn't it?" I grin and nudge her shoulder, "Better than bad news, eh?"  
"I know," she nods, "I'm just… oh man."  
"You could have told me you two were together, what did you expect me to do?" I frown and look up at the clock.  
"Because we thought you'd either tell Lyons, who might disapprove of it, or you'd tease us so much our heads would spin."  
I roll my eyes, "I'm not that evil, am I?"

Before Ali can respond, a doctor walks into a waiting room and calls my name.

I sit upright and Ali grips at my arm, "Winter…"  
"I'll tell you everything," I whisper, before getting up and walking toward the doctor. She leads me inside to another room, probably her office, and shuts the door behind her. I sit down and she sits down in front of me.  
"I don't have much time, I have a lot of patients to check up on," she sighs.  
I nod and she opens a file, "Dusk will make a full recovery, she should recover from most of her injuries within a few months. However…"  
I straighten up in my seat and lean my head forward a little.  
"Unfortunately, she had a severe infection along the lower half of her leg… we couldn't save it."  
"Shit…" I mutter and look down.  
"Look, she's allowed visitors. She's requesting to see you."  
I nod, "Alright…"

I have a longer meeting with the doctor about the next few months, why she's telling me I have no idea. Before I visit Dusk the doctor makes me clean my hands a million times with soap and put on some visitor-friendly scrubs that I had to wear when Char was born, to prevent germs spreading or something. I'm such a good daughter of two intelligent doctors and scientists. I walk into Dusk's room and swallow. Dusk is conscious and looks a little lost, eyes rimmed red and looking down at her stomach.  
"Hey," I smile weakly, "I um… you're alright?"  
Dusk sighs and shakes her head as she chuckles, "You found out, huh?"  
"Well… I don't know, it's pretty obvious."  
"To you and Amata maybe, from a first glance," she sighs as I sit down beside her, "How am I going to tell Ali?"  
I shrug and smirk, "Well… I never really told Amata, she found me… But I imagine Ali'd care about you either way."  
"That's nice to think…" she sighs.  
"You'll be fine. At least it isn't your entire leg."  
"It's enough," she sighs.  
"Oh stop it. I was amputated from the hip, you saw my prosthetic. All you'll need is a stick with a shoe attached to it, I was a fucking gingerbread man that someone bit the leg off of."  
She chuckles and coughs, clutching her stomach in discomfort, "Dammit…"  
I smile, "You need anything?"  
"I'm out of the Pride… aren't I?"  
I exhale slowly, "Um… probably not. I mean, I was allowed in. You'll be out for a few months to get used to running around again."  
Dusk coughs again and wipes her eyes, "Who's going to fill in for me then?"  
I chuckle, feeling like an insensitive idiot as I do so, but I don't know what else to do to make the situation lighter than it really is, "I'll manage. You'll be ready for action before you know it."  
"Why can't I get that magic leg that you have?" she says quietly.  
"Um… yeah. The doctor explained this," I say awkwardly, "Because of the publicity my leg got, the guy who did it isn't interested in doing another one for his own safety. I'm sorry, Dusk."  
She lets out a shaky sigh and I gently grasp her hand, "Hey, I've got you, Dusky. I'm gonna make sure you get what you need."  
She nods and I squeeze her hand a little tighter, "We'll be fine. I promise. I'll visit you every chance I can get, haul your ass up and get you back to walking again."  
She laughs and wipes her eyes again, "Thanks, Daniels."  
"Do you want me to stall Ali for a few more minutes?"  
Dusk takes in a deep breath, "…No. I have to face her sometime I guess…"  
I nod and stand up, "Get Ali to call me if you need anything, alright?"  
"Alright," she nods.  
I walk out into the hallway and Ali jumps to her feet. I walk up to her and hold her gently by her arms, "You'll be OK when you go in there?"  
She lets out a shaky breath and looks at the door, "I don't know, Daniels… I…"  
"I know it's hard," I nod, "But she needs you, above all else. Chin up, deep breaths, and smile for her. No matter how hard it is."

Lyons shuts the door behind me and locks it, plunging us both into a room with only a desk and chairs, with a faint light positioned above us.  
I sit down and Lyons sits across from me, "How're you handling Dusk's situation?"  
"She'll live. That's good enough for me," I cross my arms, "Why am I here, Lyons?"  
"Colonel Autumn's issued a formal statement to Elder Lyons, wishing to converse with you."  
"Why's that?"  
"I'm asking you the same thing," she asks suspiciously.  
I frown and sit upright in my seat, "What are you implying?"  
Lyons opens a thick folder and brings out a stack of papers, slamming them onto the desk, "All of these are related to the Enclave's interest in you, requesting time with you, Enclave doctors wanting to examine you. I want to know why."  
"I don't know," I sigh, feeling nervous as Lyons gives me a look.  
"I trust you, Daniels," she says assuringly, "Nobody puts down that many Enclave officers and soldiers if they have ties to the organization. But, you were a POW, and we pulled a camera out of your head."  
"See, we don't even know if that thing worked. It could just be a scare tactic."  
"Nethertheless, we need to know if you said anything to him. Any information about battles or personnel changes-"  
"I'm not that weak or stupid, Lyons."  
"Well, not to sound like the jealous type or something, Daniels," she snaps, "But no one else in the BoS _period _has ever been requested to be seen by the Enclave."  
"Maybe _telling _me about this beforehand would be useful! I have a family for fuck's sake!"  
"We have people watching them. Last thing we need the Enclave to have is leverage over someone as… well… devoted as yourself."  
I lean back in my seat, "So, what are we going to do?"  
"We're pulling you off the field until we sort this out."  
"_What_?!" I shout, "Oh _come on_! We just lost our second objective!"  
"We need to find out why you're so important to them," she says firmly, "I'm not prepared to risk lives at your expense. Don't question my orders, Daniels."  
I cross my arms.  
"Don't pout," she snaps, "Act your age."  
"So… what now?"  
"We're sending you and your family to a secure area until we find out about the Enclave."  
"Have you considered just asking?"  
"Believe it or not, our communications with each other are kind of difficult," she sighs.  
"Alright. Then bring Dusk and Ali with us. Amata knows how to look after her, she looked after me."  
Lyons sighs and nods, "I'll think about it."


	22. Chapter 22

I walk out into the courtyard and grin, "Dogmeat!"  
My dog turns, his jaws hanging open as he bounds towards me. He stands on his hind legs and jumps up. He wriggles around in my arms, yelping and licking my face and his tail going overtime.  
"Hey!" I grin, "How've you been, Dogmeat?"  
I drop him and he runs in circles, barking and yelping. I put him on a leash and he still runs around, tying my legs together and making me trip. I smirk and growl at him.  
"Come on," I grin as I unwrap myself from the leash and stand up. I walk him into the Den and pack up some of the clothes I keep at my bunk. I hesitate as I look at Dusk's bunk, looking at her stuff packed up in case she…. Yeah. I sigh heavily and zip up my bag, tossing it over my shoulder and preparing to leave, before I hear someone walk in.  
"Washington," I smile, "Hey man."  
"Hey Daniels," he nods and smiles at Dogmeat, "Hey buddy."  
Dogmeat wags his tail at him and I shake his hand.  
"Listen," he says awkwardly, "I heard about what happened to Dusk… and that you're going somewhere."  
"Yeah, but I'll have Amata and the kids with me, so I'll be OK."  
He nods, "Yeah, I know that. I've decided to give you a little, belated Christmas present."  
Washington hands me a BB Gun with a small pouch of ammo clips in it, enough for at least 300 shots.  
I frown at the BB Gun and look down the sights, "… Thanks?"  
Washington laughs and claps his hand on my shoulder, "Don't worry, it's not for you, though I think that you'd find a way to use it in the battlefield. Listen… there is not a better parent-child exercise on the _earth _than a parent teaching her child how to shoot a gun."  
"Um…" I look down the sights again, "Um… I don't think Aiden's old enough for this."  
"It barely kicks, it's lightweight for him and he'll be alright," he smiles, "When did you learn?"  
"When I was 10."  
"I learnt when I was three," he says proudly, "So Aiden should be OK."  
"Yeah, you turned out alright…" I smirk and strap the gun to my back, "Getting shot in the ass and everything."  
He rolls his eyes and I shake his hand, "Thanks Washington."  
"No problem kid. Hey, have fun with him, alright?"  
"I will."

I call Amata and explain the situation before I go back into the courtyard to get picked up. She sounds bitter and angry on the radio, snapping responses at me about not being able to just pick up the kids and leave just like that. I don't explain why she has to leave, because I don't want her to worry yet. I'll have to talk to her later, which I'm sure will be a real fucking treat.  
Dusk is in no condition to be travelling around, meaning that Ali and her will have to stay behind for a while. I sit down on a bench with Dogmeat, who sits down beside me. I scratch behind his ears as we wait.

The vertibird comes to pick us up at 5. Nobody in the vertibird speaks to me, most of them will be dropped off at Springvale to be shipped to the frontlines. I'm dropped off on the side of a road, and the pilot gives me a map. I look over my shoulder and begin to ask why I was dropped off here, but the vertibird takes off before he answers me.

I look around at the setting sun, Dogmeat whimpering at my feet when I curse at myself. I begin to walk silently down the road, listening to my boots crunching against the dirt. The road is straight, so I take the time to close my eyes, and listen. I can only here Dogmeat and I's movements, that's it. No distant gunfire, no other soldiers moving around me, nothing. I take in a deep breath and stop walking. I slowly look around, finding nothing in my direct vision. Just small hills, dead trees, and small streams of loose dirt trickling along the road. I look down at Dogmeat, who looks up at me with as he walks, now without a leash. I stop and grab a tennis ball from my bag, bouncing it up and down. Dogmeat runs circles around me and I throw the ball as far as I can. Dogmeat bounds after it, grabs it and bounds toward me. I rip the ball from his mouth and throw it again. We play this game for half an hour, before I see the house. I start to run for it, Dogmeat and I racing each other.  
"Slow down you bastard!" I laugh as he cuts ahead of me. I run up until I reach outside the house, before I stop dead.  
"Dogmeat," I whistle for him sharply. Within a second my dog turns from a happy, playful doofus into a hard, deadly hound. His nose plants itself in a combination of the dirt and the air, sniffing for hostiles as I pull out my revolver. I creep up to the house, my eyes trained on the windows and relying on Dogmeat to detect people that try to come in from the sides of the house. I knock on the door, instantly pressing my back against my the wall beside the doorframe. No response. I know the BoS cleared out the house and stockpiled it already, but anybody could have walked in in the few hours since it's been left by itself. I slowly open the door, Dogmeat walking in first and does his thing. The house is pretty big inside, and I find the kitchen stocked with what looks like a couple of weeks worth of food. Dogmeat's already upstairs, and when I call him he barks, confirming he's OK. Fuck, Washington can train a dog pretty damned good. Once the house is clear, I pack my stuff into the wardrobe that's in the master bedroom. I open the fridge and grab a beer.  
"Good boy!" I smile, ruffling his fur and giving him a treat.

I hear Amata's vertibird touching down at around seven. The door opens and I hear Aiden shouting and running up the stairs and hugging Dogmeat.  
I look down and smile at Amata, holding Charlie in her arms.  
"Hey," I smile and walk through the living room up to them.  
Amata looks around and frowns, "This isn't that bad a place…"  
I smile and nod, "It has three bedrooms. It's a little dusty but… it shouldn't really matter."  
"Dogmeat!" she grins as Dogmeat sits down in front of her. He sniffs at Charlie as Amata pets him.  
"Hey," she quickly pecks my lips, "Happy New Year, by the way."  
"Yeah..." I smile and shift uncomfortably on my feet, "Um…"  
She sighs, "What's wrong, Winter?"  
"Someone needs to take care of Dusk…" I trail off.  
"I'll do it," she sighs, "I looked after you, didn't i?"  
"I'm not going anywhere, I'm leaving when Dusk is leaving. I'll help you."  
She nods and dumps Charlie in my arms. I grin down at him and blow a raspberry on his stomach.  
"We have food and everything," I call out to her as she walks into the kitchen, "You won't have to lift a finger. It's a family vacation."  
She rolls her eyes, "Yes I'm sure that you originally wanted this."  
"I don't hide to spend time away from my family," I grin.  
Amata nods and hugs me tightly, "I know. I've missed you."  
"You've grown, Charlie-boy," I grin and lift him up above my head. Char stuffs his tiny fist into his gummy mouth as he grins back at me. I kiss his nose and walk upstairs, "Aiden, buddy! Come here for a second!"  
He pokes his head out of his bedroom, "Room's big!"  
"I know," I smile back at him, before getting on one knee so we're almost face to face.  
"Listen," I whisper, "I'm gonna teach you how to shoot a BB Gun tomorrow, OK?"  
"OK!" he grins.  
"Shh!" I whisper, "Your mum doesn't know yet. It's a secret, OK?"  
"OK!" he whispers loudly.

"So… you're going to tell me what the hell is going on?" Amata sighs irritably.  
I sit down with her at the kitchen table, Dogmeat at my feet as he rests against the cool tiles on the kitchen floors.  
I look down at the drink in my hand and sigh. I tell her everything, feeling like a kid admitting I've done something wrong.  
Amata gives me a look and chuckles, leaning forward and burying her face in her hands, "Jesus Christ…"  
"I know."  
"Winter…" Amata laughs, "What have you done?"  
"I don't know! Maybe Autumn likes black haired girls."  
She lets out a single, humourless laugh, "What are we going to do?"  
"Here's what we're gonna do," I say, resting my fingertips against the table, "We're gonna stay here until it's safe. Then, if Lyons doesn't give a shit, I'm gonna go asking around to find out what's going on."  
Amata groans, "No…! Honey, just stay here with your head down. The Enclave'll find you if you're running around making a fuss."  
I nod and stand up, "Alright… Look… I'm gonna go to bed."  
She nods, looking a dangerous mix between angry and miserable, "I'll go with you."

..

I wake up early the next morning and slip into Aiden's room. Aiden's eyes jerk upward and I instantly back away, "Hey, it's alright, it's me."  
He looks at me and grins, throwing his blankets off and revealing him to be fully clothed, his shoes tied to the best a small kid can do. I chuckle and kneel down to properly tie his laces, "You're excited, huh?"  
"Yeah!" he grins.  
"Shh!" I whisper with a smile, "You'll wake up your brother."  
Aiden creeps slowly down the stairs, making me laugh at the serious expression on his face. Dogmeat follows us out the door and I take the two of them to a small, decayed fence around 100 metres from the house. I set up a few cans and walk over to him, holding out the BB Gun. He reaches for it with eager hands, but I pull it away at the last second, "Ah!"  
He freezes and I frown at him, "This isn't a toy. You could hurt someone with this."  
He nods and I crouch in front of him, "You have to be responsible with this, OK? This isn't like one of your other toys, this is a weapon."  
I show Aiden how to properly hold it, making sure his finger is kept off the trigger. I show him how to check to see if it has a clip inside it. Aiden seems nervous as he holds it, but I keep a smile on my face. He takes his first shot, with the tiny pellet pinging against the can. He grins and lowers the gun, looking up at me for approval. I grin down at him and give him a high five, "Awesome job, Aide!"  
He grins and hops up and down, "I shot it!"  
"Do you want to stop, take a break?"  
"Nuh uh," he shakes his head, his bright blue eyes gleaming.  
"Alright," I laugh and check the gun.

We're shooting for around half an hour, before Dogmeat turns and barks once. I turn my head, a hand instinctively on Aiden's shoulder, ready to shield him if need be. Instead, I see Amata standing out on the veranda, her arms crossed and looking pissed. Aiden grabs me by my arm, his BB Gun still in his hand, tugging at my sleeve and pointing at her, a scared look on his face, "Am I in trouble?"  
I look down at him, smile, then shake my head, "No. No, you're fine. Go get something to eat, OK man?"  
He nods and runs upstairs, brushing past Amata.

I walk up to Amata and sigh at the stern look on her face, "I thought it would be best for him if he learnt."  
"I would have said yes to it," she says bitterly, "You didn't have to paint me as an evil wench to our son."  
I shake my head and smile, "You know that wasn't my intention, honey. It was just a secret between the two of us and he had the time of his life. Washington said it would be a good idea."  
She gives me an angry look, but Aiden comes bounding down the stairs.  
"Mom! Mom! Mom!" he shouts, running up and bouncing on both of his feet with a wide grin on his face, supposedly eager to spill everything now that he knows he isn't in trouble, "I shot a BB Gun!"  
"Did you?" she grins and hoists him up, "Did you have fun!?"  
Aiden yells the story to Amata while I grab a drink, when I sit down, Aiden runs back upstairs and goes to play with Charlie while I hoist the BB Gun onto a high shelf Aiden couldn't reach even if he stood on a chair.  
Amata gives me an uneasy look and sighs, "Alright…"  
"What?" I laugh when I turn to her.  
"You had fun with Aiden," she smiles, "I guess… your intentions were good."  
I smile, but she lifts her hand away an inch and lightly slaps my cheek. It doesn't hurt and it's a playful gesture, and whatever negative action that came from it is gone when she kisses me.  
"How're you feeling?" I ask when she breaks away from me.  
She narrows her lips and I rest my forehead against hers.  
"Scared, worried, angry," she sighs as she looks down, "But happy that I know where you are so I can keep tabs on you."  
"Why're you angry?" I murmur.  
"I'm not really angry at you, at the moment anyway. I'm angry at the Enclave, for wanting you."  
"You don't know what they want me for," I sigh as she rests her head against my left shoulder.  
"When you find out, I want you to tell me, OK? We do this together."  
I nod and feel my heart thudding against the side of Amata's head, "I promise."  
She looks up at me and pecks my lips, "I love you."  
"Love you too, beautiful."

_January 7__th_

_BANG_

I jolt awake, sitting upright and struggling to breathe. Amata, having fallen asleep lying half on top of me, wakes up instantly and is flung to the other side of the bed.  
Sweat drips from my hair onto my face and my eyes survey the room wildly, my heart pounding and my instinct urging me to seek out any threats. What woke me up was one of Charlie's plastic toys falling from his crib onto the floor, and I start to calm myself down a little bit. Images of bullets and rockets hitting buildings and the earth.  
"It's OK," Amata whispers and wraps her arms around my stomach as I start to catch my breath.  
"I'm sorry…" I whisper and run a hand through my hair.  
"Shh…" she whispers as she hugs me tighter, pressing herself lightly against my back, "It's alright…"  
I look to my right, finding comfort that my revolver rests on my bedside table, the safety on of course. One can only overestimate the curiosity of little kids.  
"What time is it?" I grumble.  
"Around three in the morning," she yawns and rests her head against my shoulder, "Nightmare?"  
I shake my head, "No. Did you hear anything about the Vault?"  
"No…" she sighs, "I really don't want to think about it. All I do is worry."  
"What did you two talk about in there?"  
"About the greater good," she sighs, "We can't let the things we treasure most affect our own survival."  
"Specifically?" I chuckle, my heart still anxiously thudding as I try to calm down.  
Amata ignores me, letting me go, letting me fall back onto the bed before she straddles my waist and kisses my lips, "You're starting to become a nervous wreck, Bright Eyes."  
I smirk and playfully bite her lower lip, "In good time… You know we can't fool around right now, right?"  
She laughs and shakes her head, "I know, dingus. I don't want Charlie having nightmares as well as you."  
My smile fades a little and she kisses me in apology, "Are you going back to sleep?"  
"Nah, I'm awake," I yawn and stand up. I look into Charlie's crib and smile, "Morning little man."  
I lift him up when he starts to whimper and tilt my head toward the door, "Might as well give him breakfast. You're gonna go back to bed?"  
"Yeah…" she sighs and nestles back into her bed.

I carry Charlie down and feed him a bottle, before handing him a toy and watching him play. I lower my head a little and take in deep breaths, hoping to calm myself down a little bit. I laugh when Charlie makes frustrated noises as he tries to chew through his toy.  
"Come on, pal," I laugh as he bashes the toy in frustration against my leg.

After a few hours I look out the window, frowning at a noise I can just barely hear. I see an incoming vertibird in the distance, heading for us.  
I rush upstairs and open the door, "Amata."  
Amata stirs awake and I put Charlie down beside her, running back and putting Aiden down beside her.  
"I need to make sure this is Dusk and Ali. Stay here with the kids," I whisper. She nods and I grab my rifle and some binoculars.  
"Be safe," I hear her call out for me as I move quickly down the stairs.

It's an unmarked vertibird, and it moves a lot slower than any vertibird I've ever seen or been on. It touches down 50 metres from the house, and I get my gun ready.  
"W-what are you doing?!" I whisper when I see Aiden crouching down beside me, holding his BB Gun, "Go back upstairs! Now!"  
"But I can help!"  
I breathe out a sigh of relief when I see Ali hopping out of the vertibird.  
"Never do that again," I scold Aiden, ripping the BB Gun from his hands, "When I tell you to stay upstairs, I mean it. Understand?"  
His bottom lip quivers and tears start to swim in his eyes and I sigh, kneeling down on one knee and hugging him, "Oh, I'm sorry, buddy."  
I hear him crying and I hug him tighter, "Hey, don't cry. I'm sorry, little man."  
"I'm not little!" he whines.  
I chuckle softly and look him in the eyes, "That's right. You aren't. You just aren't _quite _tall enough to be a soldier yet and handle fighting grownups."  
Aiden gives me a look and he wipes tears from his eyes.  
"We'll talk about it when I get people settled in," I smile, "Alright?"  
He nods and I stand up, "Now, go protect your mum."

Dusk is wheeled in to the house on a wheelchair, knowing she can't walk around on crutches yet.  
"Hey, Dusky," I grin and look down at her, "How're you going?"  
"Go fuck yourself, Daniels," she grunts.  
Dusk's lack of, well, walking means that Ali and Dusk take the bedroom on the ground floor.  
"How is she?" I lean against the wall and look at Ali.  
"Depressed as fuck," she sighs.  
"She's healed quickly," I nod and smile as Dusk starts talking to Amata.  
"She has a determination to be around you so 'You don't go and get yourself killed.' As she lovingly puts it."  
I smile and grin at the back of Dusk's head, "Thank god you're here, Dusk! I had no idea how to defend myself while you were gone!"  
She flips me off just as Aiden walks cautiously down the stairs.

"Alright," I sigh and produce two crutches, "Trust me, this'll be easy… relatively."  
I help her into the crutches and hold her up by her waist, "Alright…"  
I show her how to operate her new centre of gravity, which takes a while to get used to.  
"Why do I need to learn this?" she frowns as she awkwardly positions herself, "Won't I be getting a prosthetic?"  
"Because you can't count on always having a functioning one. You'll be able to sprint with these bad boys before you know it.  
"Yeah… we'll see…"

Dusk is still relatively sore from surgery, and her stomach still tender, so we take a break after around 10 minutes. We sit down on a couple of chairs outside and I give her some water to drink.  
"You did well," I smile, "It'll just take a little while."  
She sighs heavily and nods, "Ali's mad that I won't let her help me."  
"Why's that?"  
"Well… I wanted you to teach me. I mean, I watched you on crutches before, you're confident and you know what you're doing."  
I smile into my glass, take a drink, then shake my head, "You're a horrible liar, Dusky."  
She chuckles quietly in a kind of "Oh god why me?" way and nods, "I know. I… I don't like Ali seeing me like that. At least with you… you understand."  
"The embarrassment, the anger, the annoyance?"  
"Oh yeah," she nods and looks down at where her foot used to be, "I still feel it, sometimes. I'm wiggling my toes right now."  
"Eh, it passes."  
Dusk looks out into the distance and blinks a few times, "Winter?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Do you see yourself as Amata's… protector?"  
I laugh and run a hand through my hair, "No… not really. Why?"  
"Like… if you were going to walk her through the wasteland with only crutches, would you be nervous?"  
I shake my head, "No, Amata can handle herself in a gunfight… she just needs practise at the moment, actually."

…

"I'm not good at this," Amata sighs as she holds my rifle.  
"Well blame Dusk, she got the idea in my head," I smile and stand beside her and lightly tap her back, "Loosen up, you know the drill."  
Amata turns her head and smiles at me.  
"What?" I frown.  
"It's been almost two weeks, you haven't left us yet."  
I raise an eyebrow, "I'm not that much of a prick, am I?"  
She shakes her head and takes her shot, narrowly missing her target, "Shit…"  
"Amata, you know I love you and the kids," I question her and put a hand on her shoulder.  
Amata eases away from her gun, opening her eye before processing what I was saying, "What…? Oh! No, honey! I know that you love us," she eases down her gun and hugs me, "No, I don't doubt that for a second. That came out wrong, I just meant that usually the BoS pulls you in around this time."  
I look down and see Aiden standing below me.  
"Hey," I smile as Amata moves away from me. Aiden looks up at me and has a sheepish look on his face.  
I hoist him up and smile, "I'm not mad at you, Aide."  
Aiden buries his face against my shoulder and nods, "OK."  
I look at Amata, "Why didn't you keep him in the bedroom?"  
"We was gone in a second," she sighs.  
"What're you doing out here anyway?" I smile at him.  
"I wanted to say sorry," he whispers as I put him down.  
"The reason why she had to do it, Aiden," Amata explains as she crouches down in front of him, "Was because she didn't know who was coming. The BB Gun can't fight off a man with armour. She was protecting you."  
I nod and look down at the two.  
"Go get your BB Gun," I smile and nod at the house. He grins and turns around, running back into the house. I look back at Amata, who hugs me tightly and kisses my lips. I wrap my arms around Amata and don't break away from her until I hear Aiden running up to us.

_January 14__th_

I wake up to the sound of Dusk yelling my name, telling me to "Wake the fuck up!"  
Amata rolls off of me so I can jump out of bed. I run down and find Dusk and Ali sitting down with a radio.  
"We took the western bases," Ali grins. Three Dog roars on for a good 15 minutes. Amata had banned Dusk from listening to war reports, because she needed to rest and recover, not worry about the war effort. I'd been spending most of the time talking with Dusk, forgetting about the war for a few days because I knew there was nothing I could do about it. Last night at around three in the morning, we finally captured the final objective, gaining the initiative by using the majority of our vertibirds to bomb the place before we moved in our troops. I sit Charlie on my lap as I listen to the casualty report, over half of our invasion force is either dead or disabled, losing only a few vertibirds.  
"We can't sustain that," Dusk grunts as Ali sits in her lap, "What the fuck is taking the outside territories so long?"  
I shrug, "Why waste supplies and lives on a state that they think they can hold on their own?"  
"We won, yes. But what about the Enclave? Do they have territories?"  
"I have to imagine that they don't. Nobody's heard about them through Enclave radio, anyway."  
"So… what? They wait until we're worn down before they come to 'clean up'?"  
"I don't know, Dusk," I sigh as I bounce Char on my knee and hold a clean toy for him to chew on, well, as much as he can considering he barely has teeth, "C'mon, man. Chew like you mean it."  
Ali smiles and looks at me, before Duck speaks up, "You look really cute like this, Daniels."  
"What?"  
"It's just funny, having my image of you being a sharp shooting son of a bitch, and then seeing you playing parent. It's hilarious."  
"Aw isn't it fucking adorable?" I sneer and flick my wrist at them.  
Amata walks up to me and takes Charlie away from me, "Don't swear in front of the baby, Winter."  
"Ah he doesn't know any better," Dusk grins, "He's just a baby."  
Amata gives Dusk a "Don't tell me how my child thinks" look and opens her mouth to interject, before I pipe up, "We won the western campaign."  
Amata turns her head and grins, "Really?!"  
"Yeah," I nod, "We lost a lot of men though."  
"As always," she sighs and Ali. They share a look that makes Dusk and I go very, very quiet.

I walk outside, smiling at the morning sun not being so relentless. I walk over to the veranda and sit down, uncapping a beer and resting my feet against the rail bannister. A pair of binoculars rest on the table beside me and I pick them up, peering through them and surveying the area. Dusk comes out after a while and chuckles, "Still looking around, huh?"  
"I like knowing my surroundings," I smirk and lower my binoculars, "What sniper doesn't?"  
She nods in agreement and sits on the chair beside me, "Hey… can I talk to you real quick?"  
I shrug and hand her my beer, "Not much else to do at the moment."  
She takes a sip and puts it in between us and grunts, "I shouldn't be drinking, especially with my meds."  
"Fine, more beer for me," I chuckle.  
"Oh no you don't!" she laughs and snatches it from me and takes another sip, before her expression gets serious, "Listen… I... Ali wants me to leave the Pride."  
I nod slowly and look up at you, "What do you want to do?"  
"I don't know. I wanted to ask you."  
I lean back in my seat and exhale slowly, "Um… it makes sense…"

I lean against the door and Amata walks up to me, "What's wrong?"  
Amata hands me another beer and I explain the situation to her, and she gives me a look, "What did you tell her?"  
"I told her to do what she felt was bes- hey!"  
Amata grabs me by my shoulders and shoves me against the wall, "You listen to me."  
My eyes widen as I look into Amata's furious eyes, "You are _not _steering this thing into Dusk staying with the Lyons' Pride."  
"It's her own choice," I sigh irritably, "Not ours!"  
"I am _not _standing by and letting Ali go through the same shit I have to go through every goddamn day."  
"Amata…" I whisper.  
"No," she snaps, "Their lives will not be our lives. I love you, and I'm stuck with you because I can't imagine a time where I have to live without you. But Ali and Dusk… Jesus, they need peace. I know you need to keep fighting, because you owe it to Sarah and the BoS, you have that moral code that drives me insane. Thank god Dusk sees self-preservation above pride."  
"And loyalty," I interject, before she slaps me across the face. It stings in more than one way, and I look up at her with a broken expression, to which she expresses no remorse.  
Her stone cold expression stays on her face as we stare at each other, and anger quickly takes over my common sense.  
"If you don't like your life here, you don't have to fucking stay."  
Now it's Amata's turn, her face now one of pure shock. Tears swim in her eyes as I hold my stinging cheek, now reddening and leaving a handprint.  
"Where are you going?" she chokes out as I grab my revolver.  
"To get a fucking drink."


	23. Chapter 23

**Shorter than usual, I know, but the next chapter will be the same length, I promise.**

* * *

"Daniels?" Dusk frowns as I storm out of the house, "You OK?"  
"Yeah," I sigh and shove my revolver into its holster, "I'm going to go get a drink."  
"A drink?" she laughs, "Where?"  
"There's a neutral building a mile or two away from here," I say, "I'll be back in a few hours."  
"Winter," Dusk sighs, grabbing my arm firmly, "Stop. Think."  
"Get off me," I snap and rip my hand away.  
"Damn, did Amata slap you?!" she gasps when she sees the hand print on my cheek.  
I ignore her and move again, but Dusk grabs me and keeps me still, "I can't let you leave, Daniels. Come on, you aren't supposed to be more than 100 metres from the house."  
I give Dusk a vicious look, but she just tightens her grip on my arm, "You have kids now, Daniels. You can't put them in danger if you can help it. You go out there, you're going to risk someone seeing you and following you. You're going to wake up one day to the sound of an Enclave squad busting down your door and dragging you outside for Aiden to see. Charlie won't make sense of it, but Aiden sure as shit will. I might have one leg, but you can bet your fucking ass I'll keep you inside this fucking house if it kills me."  
I take in a deep breath and sigh, "Jesus fucking Christ…"  
"Get inside," she snarls, getting behind me and literally kicking my ass.  
"Hey!" I snap, walking in and shutting the door behind her.

"Damn," Amata laughs as I rub the back of my head, "I can't believe someone managed to stop your sarcasm. Ali's lucky."  
Amata laughs as I sit down on the couch, defeated.  
"You're enjoying this?" I mutter.  
"Well, apparently if I don't enjoy myself, I can leave," she smiles, an acidic tone in her voice, "You can sleep on the couch tonight."  
"Oh, what? You slap me across the face and you're totally in the right."  
"If you're being a fucking idiot, sure."  
"Oh, so if I slap you across the face, I'm alright."  
"Of course not, that's domestic abuse," she says happily, "I could beat the living shit out of you, nobody would say a word. You so much as slap me and you'll be arrested."  
"But you won't?"  
"Of course not," she sighs and runs a hand through my hair, ruffling it like I'm a small child, "I'm not sorry I slapped you, though."  
"Yeah yeah," I mutter. Amata walks upstairs and comes back with a blanket and pillow.  
"You're serious?" I frown.  
"Oh yeah, I'm mad at you," she says bitterly.  
"You have two fucking emotion settings. Lovey dovey and hating me."  
"You aren't helping your case, Daniels," she smiles and kisses the top of my head, "Goodnight."  
I sigh and set myself up for bed.  
"Winter?"  
"Yeah?" I sigh as I pull the blanket over me.  
"I love you," she says sincerely.  
"You too…" I groan miserably as I close my eyes, "You're still mad at me?"  
"Absolutely livid… I can kind of understand why you'd want to say about Dusk and her duty, but… I can't let them go through the same shit we go through. We'll talk about it tomorrow, OK? When we're both relatively calm."

I groggily open my eyes the next morning feeling like shit. My neck aches as I sit up and I already feel tired from only having a few hours sleep. Charlie is sitting beside me and looking a little pissed.  
"Hey pal," I yawn tiredly and tickle his belly. His face scrunches up and he starts crying. I sigh and pick him up  
"Calm down, Char" I grumble and walk upstairs to the kitchen,making a bottle for Charlie with baby formula from BoS before I feed it to him.  
"Daniels!" Dusk grins, stepping out of her room with her crutches, wearing only shorts and a tanktop, "Good morning."  
"Morning," I mumble grumpily as I sit down.  
"I had the best night's sleep last night, how about you?" she says cheerfully.  
"Screw off," I mutter.  
"Well, don't mess with Amata, you could have been all curled up the entire night. If you ask me, you shouldn't have even said anything."  
"How long did you say you and Ali were together, again?"  
Dusk smirks, "Point taken. Listen, Daniels. Don't interfere, I'll talk to Amata about it later. I appreciate this, I really do, but I think this is something Ali and I have to figure out by ourselves."  
I nod patiently, "You've got it. If you stop laughing at me sleeping on the couch."  
She smirks and nods.  
"Where's Amata?"  
"Teaching Aiden outside."  
"Teaching him what?"  
"Reading," she shrugs.  
I yawn and smile down at Charlie when he smiles up at me. I smile up at Dusk, who smiles slightly back at me.  
"I'm so fucking bored here," Dusk groans, "Who'd of thought having one leg would be such a constraint on my life?"  
I roll my eyes, "Don't winge."  
"We need to do something today, something."  
"Call up Lyons," I shrug, "See if you can help with something."  
"You seem content on doing absolutely nothing."  
"I grew up in a large tin can 200 metres underground, I was born into boredom."  
"No you fucking weren't, you were born in a dirty operating room surrounded by pissed off doctors."

"Hey," I nod at her as she walks inside.  
"Hey," she smiles and kisses my cheek.  
"You're in a good mood," Dusk smiles.  
"I was," Amata frowns at her, "What are you doing barely dressed with no pants in the kitchen?"  
"My leg's been annoying me, phantom pains."  
"Bullshit. I'm an expert at amputee bullshit excuses," she laughs, "Your leg is fine you lazy idiot, go and put on some pants."  
Dusk groans and smiles at Aiden, "Morning, kid."  
Aiden hides behind me, like he always does when he's afraid.  
"Don't try to avoid it," she says and walks up to Dusk's bedroom door to get some clothes for her.  
"I wouldn't go in there," Dusk laughs, "Ali isn't exactly descent."  
Amata groans and glares at me.  
"What did I do?" I frown.  
"What are you doing letting her walk around here almost naked?"  
"It isn't our house, for one. And two, I'm used to it. You don't sit around in suffocating heat for days on end in jeans and proper military gear when you're in the middle of nowhere."  
Amata rolls her eyes at me and snaps at Dusk to get dressed.  
Amata walks upstairs and I smirk at Dusk, "You can stop hating her now."  
"I don't know what you're talking about," she smirks back at me.  
I chuckle and shake my head.  
"Aiden," I grin, "You wanna practise today?"  
He grins back at me and I nudge him along, "Meet me outside."

…

"Oh for fuck's sake, Daniels!" Dusk groans as she sits on a chair just behind Aiden and me, "You trying to teach him how to kill himself?"  
I look back at Dusk as I adjust his grip, "He's a good shot, Dusk. Leave him alone."  
"I'm not annoyed at him."  
"Well, when you raise kids, you can teach them how to shoot however you want."  
"Uh huh, while don't I just teach him to shoot behind his back with a blindfold while I'm at it?"  
Aiden looks up at me, baby blue eyes gleaming, and I grin down at him, "She's just teasing me, buddy. You're doing fine."  
Dusk chuckles and takes a sip of beer, "You like getting taught by your mom, Aide-boy?"  
He nods, "She just reads."  
"Eyes on the target, Aiden," I smile and point at it, "Shoot when you're ready."  
He shoots and hits his target. He slowly lowers his gun, turns to Dusk and pokes his tongue out at her.  
I burst out laughing and lightly cuff the back of Aiden's head, "Don't poke your tongue out at Dusk, Aiden."  
Dusk chuckles and looks up, her expression suddenly fading completely, "Uh oh…"  
I over my shoulder and frown, "Aiden, go inside."  
Two vertibirds are rapidly approaching, two faint black dots in the distance.  
"What is it?" he whispers.  
"Go!" I shout.  
Aiden picks up his BB Gun and runs back inside before I grab my rifle and jog after him.  
"Amata," I call up the stairs as I break the window with the butt of my rifle, "Cover Charlie's ears!"  
Ali looks out the window and instantly runs upstairs and grabs our spare ammo clips. Dogmeat comes bounding down the stairs, barking and heading for the door. I reach over and grab him by his collar, shoving him beside me and telling him to stay. Dusk sits down on a chair and positions her rifle properly.

Two vertibirds land smoothly on the ground, with roughly twelve Enclave soldiers hopping out.  
"Oh shit!" Dusk swears as I duck behind cover.  
An Enclave officer drops out, walking proudly out into the middle of the soldiers, who are formed into two rows of six, guns aimed at us.  
"Paladin Daniels," he shouts, "Colonel Augustus Autumn wishes for your company!"  
I don't respond, hiding behind the wall and looking at Dusk.  
"Daniels?" he shouts, I can hear him smirking, "We'd reallyappreciate it if you'd come out now!"  
"What do you want to do?" I whisper to Dusk.  
"Reinforcements will be at least a half hour," she whispers, "I don't know what to do."  
I poke my head up and see two soldiers advancing toward us.  
"Where's Aiden?" Amata asks desperately.  
"What? I thought he was with you!"  
"I thought he was with you!"  
I look at Dusk, before springing to my feet.  
"Aiden?!" I shout, opening the doors at the ground floor. I check under the beds, open the drawers. I look outside the kitchen window. I see Aiden walking around the backyard, quietly calling for Dogmeat.  
"Aiden!" I whisper, "Get over here!"  
I see a soldier flanking the side of the house. I grab my revolver and fire, my shot hitting his helmet, crushing the metal and banging into his head. I look back for Aiden, but he's gone.  
"Aiden!" I hear Dusk shouting. I turn around and sprint back to the front of the house. I see Aiden, clutching his gun, a BB gun but not easily seen from afar. One Enclave soldier takes aim.

"Aiden!" I scream. Aiden falls down, screaming in pain as he writhes on the ground.  
"You shot a kid!" I scream, standing up and firing rounds from my revolver. Dusk jumps up, hops across to me and shoves me to the floor, a hail of bullets hitting the wall where I just stood. I look down and see Aiden, ten metres outside the house, screaming "Mommy!" at the top of his lungs. Tears sting my eyes and I bash my head against the floor.  
"I do not want more violence!" the officer shouts, "I'd have thought that child soldiers were not in the BoS' agenda. I guess I was wrong. Come out now, Paladin, don't make it worse for your child."  
"Daniels, don't move," Dusk orders.  
"Get off me," I whisper, sucking back tears and trying to calm myself down, "Dusk… I have to do this."  
Dusk looks at me and nods, rolling off me. She hugs me tightly.  
"Look after Amata and the kids, at least until you get to the Citadel," I beg quietly.  
She nods, "Until Amata tells me to stop, I'll look after them, Daniels."

I slowly rise and raise my hands so they reach my shoulders.  
Aiden is screaming in agony on the dirt, blood pouring out of a wound out of his leg. Amata rushes down the stairs, and our eyes meet as I stand just to the right of the door.  
"Don't," Amata whispers, looking at me desperately, "Don't go."  
I look down at the ground for a while, taking in a deep breath before looking up at my wife, "I'll get him."  
Tears flood Amata's eyes and I smile softly at her, before walking outside. Twelve guns are pointed at me and I walk slowly out toAiden.  
"Hey," I whisper and crouch down beside him, "Easy buddy… easy. You're going to be fine. I'm here."  
Aiden wails and I look up at the soldiers in front of me, "Let me take my son inside. He needs medical attention."  
An Enclave soldier walks forward and picks Aiden up. I rise and face him off, but he brushes past me and walks into the house. Three Enclave troops run forward and grab me, shoving me onto the dirt and shoving my hands behind my back.  
"Don't shoot them, Dusk!" I shout as they bind my wrists, "I'll be OK!"  
They shove me onto my feet and I desperately turn around. I see Aiden crying into his mother's arms, and Amata being pulled upstairs by Ali. Amata looks back at me, on the verge of complete hysteria.  
Dusk looks absolutely murderous, but I give her an assuring nod.

"Glad you could see reason," an officer smiles as I'm guided past him and onto the vertibird.  
I sit down on the bench and my wrists are chained to a hood on the floor, with barely enough room to waist them above my stomach. My ankles are strapped firmly to the metal railing underneath the seats, and a black bag is shoved over my head, stealing a final look at my family. The final image I see before the bag is placed over my head is the Enclave troops all boarding the vertibirds, leaving the house alone.


End file.
